Another Chance
by laur824
Summary: Rachel is wishing she hadn't let Noah go. Noah is feeling the same way. Can they rekindle their romance and possibly watch it blossom into love?
1. Bad Day At School

Rachel Berry sat in her last class of the day. She tapped her fingernails against her desk and glanced at the clock. Never had she been so eager for the school day to end. She was starting her new job this afternoon as a junior dance instructor at Madame Beauforte's School of Dance. She tapped her feet and looked at the clock again. Finally the bell rang to announce that school was out for the day. Rachel gathered her belongings and skipped off to her locker.

From there she bounded down the hallway to the glee room. Tina and Mercedes were already there. "Hello, Miss Bouncy" said Mercedes chuckling as she watched Rachel scamper towards them. Rachel sat down on a chair and faced her two friends. "Hi guys. Well today's the day. I start my new job." "You'll be great Rachel. Those kids don't know how privileged they are to be getting you as a teacher." "Thanks Tina. And that's not the only thing that's happening today." Brittany, Quinn, and Santana entered the room just then. "What are you guys talking about?" asked Brittany, pulling a chair over to where the three other girls were sitting.

Quinn and Santana joined them. "Rachel's starting her new job today and she was just about to tell us what else is happening today when you guys came in." Mercedes said. The five girls looked expectantly at Rachel. "My dads are going away for two whole weeks and my cousin Leon and his wife are going with them." "Leon's the one that was a carrier for Tay-Sachs, right?" asked Quinn.

"Yeah that's him. He and his wife Sarah are leaving their daughter Jasmine with me." "How old is Jasmine?" asked Santana. "She's five months old. And she's also my goddaughter." "Awww, Rachel, I didn't know you were a god mom! Can we come over and meet her? Please?" begged Santana. "Of course. Why don't you guys come over tomorrow night? It's Saturday tomorrow." "We'll be there." Just then the boys came in.

Rachel tensed when she saw Finn Hudson, her boyfriend, and it wasn't in a good way. She turned her face so she wouldn't have to look at him. He was the other reason that she was so eager to leave school that day. "Rachel?" Unwillingly, she looked up. Finn was standing in front of her. "Finn, please don't do this right now. I can't handle it." Mr. Schuester entered the room, but Finn didn't notice. "Rachel, come on, you are being ridiculous." Noah Puckerman, an ex-boyfriend of Rachel's, grimaced. Telling Rachel Berry that she was being ridiculous was not a good idea.

Although he was too bad-ass to admit it, he wished he had fought for Rachel when that jerk Jesse St. James had come swooping in and taken her. Seriously, who did that jerk think he was, pretending to date Rachel, when all the while he was planning to return to Vocal Adrenaline. And then that little monkey egged Rachel along with the rest of his team. Rachel had looked like a lost puppy when she came into the choir room and told them what had happened. Puck had been ready to mess up that Jesse kid's face, but Mr. Schue had stopped him. And then after they had performed at Regionals, Quinn's water had broken and he had thanked the lord that her mother was there. He didn't think he could have handled it alone. After Regionals it had appeared clear that Rachel and Finn were an item, but it hadn't been going very well. He was sure they had had more than a few fights over the summer. Puck shook himself and returned his attention to the conversation that Rachel and Finn were having. By now, Rachel was so mad; he wouldn't have been surprised if smoke had been coming out of her ears.

"You listen to me Finn Hudson! Don't try and wriggle out of this by saying that Santana forced you into sleeping with her! You made the decision to, and then you told me that you couldn't go through with it. In other words, you told me a lie! First Jesse lies to me, now you! The only other boy I've dated is Noah, and while he might have lied it was for a good reason. He was trying to protect you, his best friend. Even though we dated for a short time, he was honest with me and he wasn't ashamed of me like you seem to be! Well, guess what Finn Hudson! We are finished, I'm sick of being used and strung along and of hiding our relationship because you only give a damn about your reputation and worry about what dating McKinley High's number one nobody will do to it!" Rachel was on her feet now and shaking from head to foot. She noticed standing by the piano. ", fellow Glee clubbers, I'm sorry that you had to witness my outburst. Undoubtedly it would have been better to wait until Glee rehearsal was over, but it was not meant to be. I'm excusing myself from rehearsal for today because I won't be able to rehearse in a professional manner. Girls, I'll see you tomorrow. Boys, , I'll see you next week." Silently, she gathered up her things and walked towards the door. Puck thought he heard a sob before it closed.

**Author's Note: Yes, this story is back, along with some new ones. I am so sorry I took this story and my 'Flipped' fanfiction down, but I felt that some of the chapters needed work and I needed to revisit the stories and remember what they were again. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy! **


	2. New Job

Rachel sat in her car before Madame Beauforte's School of Dance. _Come on Rachel, pull yourself together. I know you are upset about what happened in the choir room but you can't let Finn or Jesse get you down. Jesse is gone now so he can never hurt you again. Noah looked like he wanted to say something when you were yelling at Finn, but he didn't. God he looked so cute today, with his white tank top peeking out from his plaid button down with the sleeves rolled up. His arms looked so tanned and strong...okay that is enough Rachel Barbra Berry! You've probably lost your chance with Noah Puckerman forever because of that Run Joey Run video and you didn't tell him that you also casted Finn and Jesse. Now get in that school and do your job!_

Rachel climbed out of her car and hurried up the steps into the school. She was 15 minutes early, so she changed into her leotard and ballet shoes. She pinned her hair into a neat bun and walked to the reception desk. The woman who was sitting there was on the phone. She mouthed to Rachel "I'll be with you in a minute." Rachel nodded and looked through one of the photo albums that were sitting on the desk. The woman hung up the phone and looked at Rachel. "Sorry about that dear. Now, how can I help you?" "I'm Rachel Berry, I'm teaching beginner ballet." "Ah yes, Miss Berry, Madame wanted to see you before you began your class. I'll call and let her know you are here."

"Thank you." Rachel sat down on one of the chairs and put her hands in her lap. Now that she was here, she was a tiny bit nervous. The feeling of anxiety grew when the receptionist hung up and said "You may go in" and gestured to a polished wood door on her right. Rachel managed a tiny smile and knocked on the door. "Come in." Rachel turned the knob and pushed the door open. Madame Beauforte was sitting behind an oak desk. She stood up when Rachel entered. "Rachel Berry?"

"Yes ma'am." "Good, good. Come in, have a seat." "Thank you." Celeste Beauforte shook Rachel's hand and sat down across from her. She studied the young woman in front of her intently. "Are you nervous?" "Um, well, a little bit. I've never taught anyone before, unless you count teaching dance routines to the McKinley High Glee Club. Sorry, I'm rambling." Rachel folded her hands in her lap and wet her lips. "Well, Rachel, I've heard wonderful things about you. I've heard that you are driven, and determined, and also quite a singer." "Thank you Madame Beauforte." "You're welcome. Now, the girls you will be teaching are aged 5-8 and here's a schedule for you of all our performances for the coming year."

"Oh. My goodness, there's a lot of them." She scanned the calendar, flipping through the months and stopping at December. "Oh you're doing The Nutcracker for your Christmas performance." "Correction: We are doing The Nutcracker for our Christmas performance. All the teachers as well as their pupils are expected to take part in the performance." "Oh, you mean on stage or backstage?" "On stage, of course. Parents usually come in to do stage managing and costumes and that sort of thing." "It sounds wonderful." "Good, now, come with me, and I'll take you to meet your pupils." "Madame Beauforte, thank you so much for giving me this chance. I've dreamed of teaching at this school ever since I started dancing here." "I think I can expect great things from you Rachel." They stopped at a classroom and Madame Beauforte pushed open the door. There were 8 little girls sitting in a circle on the wooden floor. They all looked around when Celeste and Rachel entered and sprang to their feet. "Girls, this is Miss Rachel Berry, and she'll be teaching you this year." Rachel smiled at the girls and they smiled back. "Behave yourselves girls." As she turned to leave, Celeste said to Rachel "Come to my office after and tell me how it went." Rachel nodded. The door closed and Rachel turned to face her students. "All right, girls, so I'm here to teach you ballet, but before we do any warm-ups we are going to play a game so I can learn your names. Now, how many of you here know each other?" All 8 of the girls raised their hands.

"Okay, I guess I'm the only one who doesn't know anyone here. Um, could you guys get in a circle please and stay standing." Rachel went to her bag to retrieve a tennis ball. She returned to the circle and showed the girls the ball. "All right, so when this is thrown to you say your name and your age. You can also say what your favourite color is if you'd like."

Rachel threw the ball to a small blonde haired girl. "My name is Tessa, I'm six years old, and my favourite colour is pink." She threw the ball to a black-haired girl. "My name is Amanda, I'm five and my favourite colour is yellow because it's a happy colour and it's the colour of the sun." Amanda threw the ball to a brown-haired girl who had big green eyes and dimples. "I'm Sophia, I'm seven years old and my favourite colour is blue." Sophia threw the ball to a red-haired girl. "My name is Diana, I'm six and my favourite colour is green." Diana threw the ball to a girl who had strawberry blonde hair. "My name is Christina, I'm eight and my favourite colour is purple." Christina threw the ball to a girl with chest-nut hair. "I'm Jessica, I'm seven and my favourite colour is orange." Jessica threw the ball to a little girl with black hair. "I'm Sierra, I'm five, and I like all the colours of the rainbow." She threw the ball to a brown-haired girl on Rachel's right-hand side. "I'm Morley, I'm 8 years old, my favourite colour is ocean blue, and I'm Sierra's older sister." She passed the ball to Rachel. "Well, my name is Rachel, I'm 17, and my favourite colour is red."

Rachel put the ball back in her bag and returned to the circle. "All right, ladies. Let's begin." Rachel led her class in a series of warm-ups, then began teaching them the choreography she had mapped out the night before. In the last half hour of the class, she had them practice on the bar. She walked along, correcting a pose or reminding the girls to point their toes. When it was getting close to 4:30, she clapped her hands. "All right girls, that's enough for today. Well done, everyone that was a good start. I will see you all next Monday, have a wonderful weekend." The girls gathered their bags. Rachel put the CD player back where she had found it. She picked up her bag, turned off the lights, and closed the door behind her. She slipped her feet out of her ballet shoes and put on her flats. She walked towards Madame Beauforte's office and knocked on the door. "Come in." Rachel pushed open the door and sat down in the same chair she had earlier. "Well, Rachel. How did it go?" "Good thank you. I didn't have any trouble with the girls. I'm excited to teach them for the rest of the year." "Oh, good. Would you like some coffee or tea?" "No thank you. I actually have to get going. My goddaughter is arriving this afternoon and I have to get everything set up. I'm sorry." "No, don't worry about it. I'll see you next Monday." "Yes, Madame Beauforte. Have a good weekend." "You too, Rachel."

Rachel stood and walked out to her car. She got in and drove home. She had another half hour before Leon, Sarah, and Jasmine would arrive. She would have a shower and wash away the stresses of her day and the disappointment in Glee club that afternoon.


	3. Noah?

Rachel unlocked the door to her house and let herself in. She closed the door and headed up the stairs to take a shower. She stood under the hot water and let it unknot the tense muscles in her back and her shoulders. When she was clean she towelled herself off and slid into a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt. She pulled a comb through her hair and then went into her bedroom.

She pulled her phone out of her bag. She had four missed calls from Finn, of course. She listened to the messages and rolled her eyes. All of them were the same. He begged her to give him another chance and to pick up the phone. She hit the erase button and erased them all. She put her phone down on her bed and went to get the playpen that Jasmine would be sleeping in and pulled it out of the bag. She decided to set it up in her bedroom so that she would be near Jasmine all the time. She was just putting blankets in it when the doorbell rang. She glanced at her watch. It was five o'clock and Leon and Sarah had said they weren't coming over until six-thirty or seven o'clock.

She padded down the stairs and went to answer the door. She pulled it open. "Noah?" she asked hesitantly. "Yeah, I was just in the neighbourhood, so I thought I'd stop by." "Oh well, I'm glad you did. Um, come on in." She stood back to let him pass and then closed the door behind him. "Can I get you anything? Are you hungry or thirsty?" "No thanks. I just wanted to see if you were okay after what happened in Glee this afternoon." "Oh yeah, I'm fine. But I'm definitely done with Finn." "Yeah, I figured. So what are you going to do now?" "Well, I'm going to be busy with work, and my goddaughter is coming to stay with me for two weeks while her parents and my dads go on vacation." "When is she coming?" "She's coming today. She's five months old." "Cool. Could I maybe come over and meet her this weekend?" "The girls are coming over tomorrow to meet her. But you could stay tonight and meet her." "No, that's cool. I actually have to get going. I could come Sunday if you aren't busy." "Sure." Puck stood up and walked to the door with Rachel walking behind him. "Noah... thanks for coming over to see if I was okay." "No problem." He hesitated, and then leaned in and kissed Rachel on the cheek. "See you Sunday." "Okay. Bye." Rachel closed the door behind him. Maybe she did have another chance with Noah after all.


	4. Jasmine Arrives

Rachel was reading when the doorbell rang. She sprang up to answer it and pulled open the door. Leon, Sarah, and Jasmine were on the porch. "Hi guys!" Rachel greeted them cheerfully. Leon put his arm around her and gave her a hug. "Jasmine fell asleep while we were driving over here." Leon explained, putting Jasmine's car seat down. Rachel bent down and unbuckled her goddaughter and lifted her into her arms.

Jasmine didn't stir, but she snuggled into Rachel's shoulder. In a hushed voice, Rachel said "The playpen is set up in my room; I put it in there so I can hear Jasmine whenever she wakes up in the middle of the night." Leon and Sarah nodded approvingly. Leon picked up Jasmine's suitcase, diaper bag, and car seat and headed upstairs with them.

Sarah looked at Rachel. "I know we're making the right decision leaving Jasmine with you, Rachel. You're so good with her." Rachel smiled. "The girls in Glee want to meet her, so I told them they could come over tomorrow night."

"That's fine. How is Quinn doing, with giving up her daughter and all?" "I think she's doing all right. I'm sure she misses Beth, but she knows that she did the right thing." Sarah nodded. "How about Noah, is he all right?" "Yeah, he seems to be. He wants to meet Jasmine too, so he's going to come over on Sunday." Just then, Rachel's fathers, Jesse and Ray came into the house. "Hi Sarah, hello pumpkin" said Jesse, kissing Rachel on the cheek. "Hey Uncle Jesse, Uncle Ray." "All right, so Jesse and I will go grab our bags, and then we can be on our way." Ray said. Just then, Leon came back downstairs. He shook hands with Jesse and Ray on their way up the stairs. "Okay Rachel. Jas's stuff is up in your room, and her nanny will be coming to look after her while you are at school and at work. And here is the list with the emergency numbers, it has my and Sarah's cell numbers on it and the number of the hotels we'll be staying at. But I don't think you'll have any problems."

Rachel took the list and smiled. "Thanks Leon. I'm sure me and Jasmine will be fine." She kissed her goddaughter's forehead. At that moment, Jasmine yawned and woke up. Her eyes focused on Rachel. "Oh, look who finally decided to wake up" Rachel cooed at her goddaughter. Jasmine grinned and then noticed that Rachel's hair was down. "Okay, pretty girl, yes you can play with my hair. I think you've grown since the last time I saw you. Yes, I'm talking about you." Just then, Jesse and Ray came back downstairs. "Okay, we're ready to roll. Rachel, are you going to be okay?" asked Jesse. "I'll be fine, Daddy." "All right, we'll see you in two weeks. No wild parties, but if you want to have the Glee kids over, that's fine." "The girls are coming over tomorrow to meet Jasmine, and Noah's coming over on Sunday for the same reason." Jesse and Ray exchanged a knowing glance. "That's fine. See you in two weeks pumpkin." Ray said. "Bye Dad, Daddy." Rachel handed Jasmine to Sarah and Leon so they could hug and kiss her goodbye, then they handed her back to Rachel. "Thank you again, Rachel." "No problem, have a good trip you guys." The four adults headed out the door. Rachel looked at Jasmine. "Come on munchkin, we'll go wave bye-bye from the window okay?" Rachel carried Jasmine to the big bay window in the living room. "Look honey, there are mommy and daddy and Cousins Ray and Jesse." Taking one of Jasmine's hands in hers, Rachel waved goodbye to her dads and her cousins. They waved back and continued waving as they drove down the driveway.


	5. A Plan Is Set In Motion

The next day was Saturday. Rachel woke up to the sound of Jasmine crying. "Ooh, okay sweetie, you've got my attention. I think somebody is ready for a diaper change and her breakfast. Come on, let's go downstairs. And after breakfast I'll give you your bath." Rachel plucked Jasmine out of the playpen and laid her on the bed. After changing her diaper, Rachel carried Jasmine down the stairs and got her settled in Rachel's old highchair while she heated Jasmine's formula. Once it was ready, Rachel pulled the baby out of the high chair and sat down with her in one of the kitchen chairs. "Good girl Jasmine. Mommy and Daddy would be so proud of you, finishing a whole bottle."

"Now munchkin, the girls from Glee Club are coming over tonight to meet you, so we should go figure out a cute outfit for you to wear. Okay, let's go." Rachel hurried up the stairs with Jasmine and started going through the clothes that Leon and Sarah had packed for her. "Hmm, I'm thinking this cute little blue dress with the matching headband. What do you think pumpkin?" Jasmine smiled at her. "I'll take that as a yes. Okay, let's get your bath ready, and then you'll be as fresh as a daisy when the girls come." After bathing Jasmine and dressing her, Rachel pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans paired with a blue spaghetti strap top. She straightened her hair and added a silver bangle bracelet. "There honey, now we're all ready for our company this evening."

That afternoon, while Jasmine was napping, Rachel baked cookies for her and the girls to snack on. As she was putting the second batch of cookies into the oven, she got a text from Tina. **Hey Rach, Mercedes and the other girls are here right now and we're wondering what time we should come over.** Rachel typed back:** Why don't you guys come over now? Jasmine's down for her afternoon nap, but she might be awake when you guys get here. And we can order in and watch movies.** She sent her reply and a few seconds later, her phone beeped. **Sounds good, we'll be there soon.**

Five minutes later, Rachel heard cars pulling up. She hurried to the window and peeked out. Quinn, Brittany, and Santana were getting out of Quinn's red convertible, and Tina and Mercedes were getting out of Mercedes' Range Rover. Rachel bounded to the front door and pulled it open as the girls came up the steps. "Hi girls! Jasmine's not awake yet but come on in." As Rachel stepped back to let her guests in, she noticed that Quinn, Brittany and Santana weren't wearing their cheerleading uniforms. Quinn noticed her looking and said "We don't wear our uniforms on weekends." "Yeah, it's kind of nice to be dressed normally" said Santana. Rachel nodded as Tina closed the door behind her. Even though they had been in Glee club together for a year, Rachel was still self-conscious about being around the three cheerleaders. They had stopped being mean to her, but she still put her guard up when she was around them. "Come on girls, cookies in the kitchen, the second batch should be ready to come out." Rachel led them into the kitchen. The girls sat down and watched Rachel pull out the second batch of cookies. A strong scent of cinnamon and nutmeg wafted through the kitchen. "Mmm, those smell yummy Rachel" said Brittany, breathing deeply. "Thanks Brittany. I hope you guys like them. The first batch is probably ready if you guys want to start snacking." "That's okay. We'll wait till the second batch is cool." Santana said. Just then, they heard Jasmine crying through the baby monitor. "Oh, someone's awake! Just hang on girls, I'll run upstairs and get Jasmine and then we can go sit in the living room." "Sounds good, do you want us to do anything?" asked Tina. "If you could put the cookies on a plate, I would appreciate that. The plates are in that cupboard" said Rachel, pointing to a cupboard over the microwave. The girls nodded. "Oh and pick any kind of soda you want out of the fridge." Rachel added as she left the kitchen. Mercedes got a plate out of the cupboard and piled cookies onto it, while Tina, Santana, Brittany, and Quinn chose their sodas. Quinn chose Root Beer, Santana Sprite, Brittany Dr. Pepper, and Tina chose Mountain Dew. "Cedes, what kind of soda do you want?" "Is there 7Up in there?" "Yep." "I'll take that, thanks." "Does anyone know what kind of soda Rachel wants?" asked Quinn. "Hold on. Rachel, what kind of soda do you want?"

Mercedes called up the stairs. "Orange please." Rachel called back. "Got it." The girls picked up their refreshments and sat down in Rachel's living room. Meanwhile, Rachel was changing Jasmine upstairs. "There we go sweetheart, you're all clean again. Now let's go downstairs so you can meet the Glee girls." Settling Jasmine on her hip, Rachel hurried out of her room and down the stairs. She came into the living room where the five other girls were sitting. "Here she is girls." "Awww, Rachel she's adorable!" exclaimed Tina.

"She is." The four other girls agreed. Rachel sat down next to Brittany on the couch and reached for her soda. "She still looks a little sleepy" commented Santana. "She always looks this way after a nap. Don't you my little angel? Yes you always look so tired right after you've had your nap." Rachel bit into a cookie. "How are the cookies, girls?" "Delicious! These taste better than the ones my mom buys at the bakery!" exclaimed Brittany. "I agree. They are good. I think you should make them the next time the Gleeks have a movie night" said Quinn. A silence fell over the room, and for a few minutes everyone munched on cookies and drank their soda. "So what happened after I left rehearsal last night?" asked Rachel. "Oh we just practiced singing and stuff, and we got new assignments for next week." Tina said. "Yeah we're all supposed to pick a song that we normally wouldn't do" said Mercedes. "When are we supposed to perform the song?" asked Rachel. "On Wednesday. Rachel, I'm really sorry for what happened with Finn yesterday" said Santana. "Why? That wasn't your fault. I'm done with him though. I'm just so sick of being lied to and hurt. At least..." she trailed off and took another sip of her drink. "At least Puck never did that to you." Tina finished for her. Rachel nodded.

"He was pretty distracted during rehearsal." Quinn said. "Yeah, I think he was worried about you. He cares about you, Rachel, even if he is all "I'm a badass."" Tina said. Rachel nodded. He stopped by here yesterday" she said softly. Immediately there were catcalls. "I knew it!" crowed Santana. "You guys are so going to get back together" Brittany squealed. "How do you know that?" "I have a fifth sense about that kind of thing. If someone is going to get back together with their ex, I can tell" said Brittany proudly. "Brittany, I think you mean sixth sense." Rachel corrected gently. "No, I don't see dead people. He kissed you yesterday when he stopped by here yesterday didn't he?" Rachel choked on her drink. "How do you know that?" "Ah ha! She admits it! Where did he kiss her Britt?" asked Santana. "On her cheek." "Okay okay, you win. You do have a "fifth sense" and yes he did kiss me on my cheek." "Can you see anything else, Brittany? Like when they are going to get back together?" asked Tina. "It's going to take awhile, I can tell you that. But no, I can't see when they are going to get back together." Rachel was starting to get a little uncomfortable. "Does anyone want to hold Jasmine?" "Don't change the subject, sweets." Santana said. "Quinn, do you want to hold her?'' "Sure, and you heard what Santana said" Quinn replied, standing up to accept Jasmine from Rachel, who had gotten up from her seat to give Quinn the baby. Brittany pulled Rachel back down next to her. "So what are we going to do?" asked Santana. "What do you mean?" asked Rachel. "How are we going to get you and Puck back together?" "Girls, don't you think you're overreacting a little? It was just a kiss on the cheek." "Uh-uh, diva. Puck has had his eye on you for a while." "I'm sorry, Mercedes, but how do you know that?"

"Rachel, look at the facts. 1. He agreed to be in your 'Run Joey Run' video. 2. He only cared that the movie was bad, he wasn't angry at you for triple-casting him alongside Finn and Jesse, and he didn't call you a slut, and 3. He was the first one to look out for you when Jesse and VA egged you. He was furious about that, we all were, but he was visibly the angriest." Quinn counted off her reasons on her fingers. "Quinn's right. Now we just need to think of a plan" said Santana. Brittany got up from the couch and scurried over to her bag, producing a pen and a notebook. She flipped the book open to a fresh page and looked expectantly at the girls. "So, ladies, any ideas?" she asked. Santana's lips twisted into a devious smile. "I've got an idea. We could invite the boys over tonight after Jasmine goes to bed, and play a kissing game." "Like what, San?" "Oh say, 'Spin the Bottle', or 'Seven Minutes in Heaven.' We'll get all dressed up, and we'll dress Rachel up too."

"That's a good idea" said Brittany, writing it down. "I'm not getting a choice here am I?" asked Rachel. "Nope, sorry sweetheart. We're friends, this is what friends do." Quinn said. "All right, but I suggest we have dinner first and give ourselves time to get ready before we invite the boys over. And Brittany, I think I have an idea too. We're supposed to sing a song in Glee Club that we normally wouldn't do, right? Well, I'll sing mine to Puck. Not tonight, but on Wednesday, and it has to be song that shows my feelings about him." "Go on" said Santana and the other girls. "It won't be a conservative number, like I usually do. I'll show my sexy side." "Good girl, Rachel. What song did you have in mind?" asked Santana. "You'll see on Wednesday. I'm guessing we need to have costumes, am I right?" "Mhm. Ladies, let's go raid Rachel's closet." Quinn said. Brittany pulled Rachel to her feet and led her up the stairs, grabbing her bag as she went. Quinn and the other girls followed with their bags. Once they were in Rachel's room, Quinn sat down with Jasmine on her lap. Rachel was pushed onto her bed by Brittany and Santana, who sat down on either side of her, and Tina and Mercedes sat on the floor. Rachel glanced at the clock on her iPod dock. It was 2:30. "So, what time are we having the boys over?" "Oh, let's say 7:30. That gives us plenty of time to get ourselves ready. And glam you up" said Quinn. "Okay girls, we've got a lot of work to do. Santana, Mercedes, Tina, you guys are on Rachel's closet. Q, you and I are on her dresser drawers." Brittany ordered. Santana and Mercedes and Tina jumped up and started going through Rachel's closet. Quinn and Brittany did the same with her drawers, after Quinn handed Jasmine to Rachel. "Oh dear lord" said Brittany. "What's the matter Britt?" asked Santana. "Rachel, where's your sexy underwear and pajamas?" asked Quinn. "I don't have any." "Okay, girls, you stay here and keep going through outfits. Rachel, you're 17. You're allowed to have sexy stuff. And you and I are going lingerie shopping right now" said Quinn, grabbing Rachel's hand and pulling her to her feet. "But what about Jasmine?" "Don't worry Rachel; we'll take care of her. You just go and get some sexy stuff to wear for your guy okay?" said Tina. "He's not my guy." "Not yet, he isn't. And when you guys come back, we'll get dressed and help you get ready, Rachel" came Santana's voice from the closet. Quinn pulled Rachel down the stairs and bundled her into her car. "So, where are we going to get sexy stuff?" asked Rachel, as they drove to the mall. "Victoria's Secret of course. Me and San and Britt have been going there for a long time." Quinn pulled into a parking spot, and hustled Rachel out of the car and into the mall.

The two girls walked towards Victoria's Secret. "Am I really about to enter this store, ever since I became a teenager I shopped elsewhere." "Well, it's always good to have a change of scenery." Quinn said, pulling Rachel into the store and leading her right to the bras and panties. "Now let's see. We need something that says 'I want you back, you sexy boy.' So, preferably, stuff with lace" Quinn said. After a few minutes of flipping through the bras, Quinn found what she was looking for. "Push-up bras are good. And I think a black bra, a red bra, and a pink bra with matching panties are good. What kind do you want? Thong, boy shorts or full?" "Um, I don't know" Rachel said. She was feeling a little overwhelmed. She had never gone sexy bra shopping before. Or sexy nightclothes or panties for that matter. "Okay. I think we'll get you boy shorts. Go to the fitting rooms and try those on, I'm going to look at pajamas for you ok. I'll be there in a few minutes." Rachel nodded and headed toward the fitting rooms.

A few minutes later, she heard Quinn's voice. "Rachel, which one are you in?" Rachel stuck her hand through the curtain and a few minutes later, Quinn came in. She was carrying a bunch of lacy pajamas. She appraised Rachel as she hung the pajamas on one of the hooks. "Dang Rachel, those look good on you. Try the pink and red ones on." Rachel did as she was told. "Hell, we'll get all three. Okay, time to try on the pajamas." Rachel slipped off the red bra and panties and put her own bra back on. Quinn rummaged through the pajamas and extracted a pink negligee that had a plunging neckline and came to the knee. "Okay, put that on." She helped Rachel slip it over her head and nodded her approval. "Okay next one." She handed Rachel a white lace night gown that had spaghetti straps and fell to the floor. "That looks good. One more and then we'll go." Rachel spotted purple pajamas and reached for them. They were a little cami and boxer set. She pulled the white nightgown off and slipped them on. "What do you think Quinn?" "Very sexy, and you can wear them whenever you want, you don't have to wear them just for Pucky Puck." "Okay, so let's get these, the white nightgown, the pink negligee, and all three of the bra and panty sets." Quinn nodded as Rachel pulled on her own clothes. She paid for her purchases and left the store with Quinn. "You know you're wearing one of those bras tonight right?" asked Quinn. "Yeah, after I wash everything." Rachel replied. What Quinn didn't know was how excited Rachel was that she would get to see Noah twice this weekend. She could hardly wait for the boys to come over.


	6. Glitz and Glam time

When Rachel and Quinn got back to Rachel's house, Brittany, Santana, Tina and Mercedes were waiting for them. Brittany had Jasmine in her arms. "Wow, you guys look great!" exclaimed Rachel. For the four girls were dressed and made up. Brittany was wearing a purple minidress paired with black heels, Santana in a skin-tight blue shirt paired with skinny jeans and stilettos, Mercedes in an off-the-shoulder zebra print shirt paired with jeans, and Tina in a short-sleeved black top paired with a white skirt. "We got dressed and made up so that we could have more time to work on you." Santana explained.

"Okay, now let's see what you bought." Brittany prodded. Rachel nodded and she and Quinn led the girls into the living room. At the sight of the bras and panties, the four other girls squealed. "Damn Rachel, you are going to look hot tonight!" "I'm not parading around in my underwear in front of Puck and the other boys." "No, but you are putting those in the washer right now, showing us the pajamas that you bought, and then you are marching straight up the stairs and into the shower." Santana said. Rachel showed them the pajamas, and then handed them to Quinn, along with the bras and panties. "I know how to do laundry, don't worry. These will be ready by the time you are out of the shower." Rachel nodded and headed up the stairs.

Going into her en suite bathroom, Rachel undressed and hopped in the shower. Quinn washed the underwear sets and pajamas separately, because she knew it would be a bad idea to wash white with colors. They were washed and dried by the time Rachel was out of the shower. Brittany and Santana ran up the stairs and knocked on the door. "Rachel get out here. We've got all the stuff ready." Rachel came out wrapped in a towel. "What stuff?" "The body shimmer and the outfit we picked for you. Oh, and we've got your lacy red bra and panties. Because they say 'romance'." Brittany replied. Quinn came in carrying the pajamas and the other bras and panties. "Jasmine's downstairs with Tina and Mercedes."

"Get dressed Rachel, and then we'll do your hair and make-up." Rachel put on her new bra and underwear, and examined the outfit that had been picked out for her. A denim mini-skirt, with a purple silk cropped halter. "The straps on your bra can come off, Rachel." Rachel nodded and unhooked the bra straps. She pulled on the top and the skirt and turned to look at the girls. "Well? What do you guys think?" "Very sexy, come on let's do your hair and make-up." Quinn said. Rachel nodded and sat down at her vanity. "Britt, San, you guys do her hair, I'll do her make-up." Santana and Brittany set to curling Rachel's hair with her straightening iron while Quinn applied make-up to her face. She dusted on blush, and painted Rachel's eyelids with shimmery purple eye shadow. Then she outlined Rachel's eyes with gold liquid eyeliner, curled her eyelashes and applied mascara. "Look girls, I appreciate your efforts but I don't think there's that much to work with." Quinn moved so Rachel could see her reflection. Santana sprayed her hair with a hairspray.

Rachel gazed at the girl in the mirror. Her face was framed by soft curls, her cheekbones were highlighted by pink blush, and her hazel eyes were brought out by the purple of her shirt and her eyeshadow. "I'm..." "Gorgeous. Now add some silver jewellery and shoes, and you're all set for tonight." Brittany instructed. Rachel put on silver hoop earrings and a bangle bracelet. Then she slid her feet into a pair of strappy black sandals. Then she turned to face the other girls. "You look gorgeous Rachel. Puck isn't going to know what hit him." Quinn said. "We already texted the boys, they'll be here about 7:30." Santana said. Rachel nodded and glanced at the clock, it was 4:25 now. "Well, let's go downstairs and show Tina and Mercedes your handiwork, shall we?" The three cheerleaders nodded, and led Rachel down the stairs. Mercedes and Tina were playing with Jasmine when they came downstairs. They looked up and their mouths dropped. "Wow, Rachel! You look beautiful. Nice work girls." Tina said. Just then, Jasmine started wailing. "That's her "I'm hungry" cry." Rachel said. She accepted the baby off of Mercedes and went into the kitchen with her.

The girls followed and watched Rachel get things ready for Jasmine's bottle. "Santana, have you had a chance to hold Jasmine yet?" Santana shook her head and took Jasmine in her arms. "So, you seem to have the whole godmother thing under control." Tina said. Rachel nodded. "Its good practice for when I have babies of my own." Nobody missed the sad look on Rachel's face. "Still wishing you and your mom were hanging out, huh?" asked Mercedes. Rachel nodded. "But, since she doesn't want me, there's not really anything I can do about it. I just wish that she had wanted the person her baby had turned into, not the baby she gave away." Quinn looked at her, and realized how Rachel must be feeling. Beth was being raised by Rachel's mom, and Rachel was trying not to let that bother her. Quinn felt awful for the way she had treated Rachel and wished she could turn back the clock, but all she could do now was make amends with Rachel and start anew.

Rachel finished getting Jasmine's bottle ready, and then glanced at Quinn. "Quinn, would you like to give Jasmine her bottle?" "Me? Oh, um, okay. I don't really know how to do it though." "Just cradle her like Santana's doing and hold the bottle for her." Quinn nodded and Santana passed her the baby. "Let's go in the living room, it will be easier for you to hold her." The girls headed back into the living room and Quinn settled into the recliner with Jasmine. As she gave Jasmine her bottle, it became painfully clear to her just exactly what she had given up. "How are things with your mom, Quinn? You've moved back in with her haven't you?" asked Rachel. "Yeah, I have. Um, things are good. My mom's a lot more open now that my dad's not around, and it's nice you know? Like we'll just hang out in front of the T.V. some nights, watch chick flicks and eat either take-out or pizza." Rachel nodded. "That's good. Mother-daughter bonding is always important, and Beth will probably have that too, when she's older."

Everyone heard the quaver in Rachel's voice. Brittany, who was sitting next to her, wrapped her arms around her comfortingly. "Don't cry, Rachel. You'll ruin your make-up." Rachel nodded, her throat too tight to speak. She blinked back tears and swallowed past the lump in her throat. "Sorry. It just really hurts that my own mother doesn't even want me. And I guess I'm kind of envious of all of you, because you all have something I will never have. You guys are so lucky your moms want you." "Okay, sweets, don't start the waterworks. Hey, how did your new job go yesterday?" said Santana. Rachel smiled. "It went great. I'm teaching a group of girls aged from 5-8, and they're so cute." "Yeah? Do you guys have any performances?" asked Tina. "Yeah, a lot. And we do a Christmas show too." "So you'll have a show in December then?" "Yeah, and guess what we're doing..." "What?" said the five other girls. "The Nutcracker." "Eeee, oh my gosh that's my favourite Christmas movie. Rachel, you'll have to let us know when the show is so we can get tickets and come watch you. It can be a Glee club thing." Brittany squealed excitedly.

"I'll do that for sure. Now I think we should have dinner. What would you girls like? Should we order in, or I can cook dinner." "Why don't we all cook dinner together? It's easier than ordering. Only, I can't cook or bake at all." Brittany said sadly. "Well. Consider this your first cooking lesson. Come on girls; let's go see what we can make." Jasmine hiccupped. "Yes, you too, babe." Standing up, Rachel led the way into the kitchen, the other girls following with Quinn bringing up the rear. She picked up the high chair and brought it over to the island. She buckled Jasmine in, and then joined in flipping through cookbooks to find something to make for dinner.

"Hey girls, how about meat lovers' pizza?" asked Santana. "That sounds good. And, strawberry daiquiris, do those sound good?" asked Rachel. "Sound delicious." "Okay, Tina, Mercedes, Quinn, you guys are on the daiquiris, Brittany and Santana, you guys can help me make the pizza." Rachel pulled an already made crust out of the fridge and set it on the counter. "Now, let's see. Santana, what does the recipe say?" "Um, pepperoni, cooked hamburger, Italian sausage, and ham." "Okay. Brittany, I'm going to put you in charge of browning the hamburger." "Won't it get cooked while the pizza's in the oven?" "We have to cook it in a pan first, Britt. Otherwise, we'll all get food poisoning and then we'll have to get the boys to drive us all to the hospital." "Oh." "Rachel, where are your cutting boards?" "They are right here." Rachel pulled out the cutting board and laid it on the counter. She handed Santana a knife so she could start slicing up the pepperoni, Italian sausage, and ham. Rachel got out the cheese grater, and then hesitated. "Girls, do you guys want just mozzarella, and just cheddar, or both?" "Both." "Okay." Rachel pulled the mozzarella and cheddar out of the fridge and started grating. "Who texted the boys?" she asked. "I did." Brittany said. "Is...Finn coming tonight too?"

"Yeah, I think so. Oh, Q, Sam's coming tonight." Quinn smiled and blushed, looking down at the strawberries she was cutting. Rachel finished grating the cheese and started spreading the tomato sauce. "How's the hamburger coming, Brittany?" "Um good, I think. Is it supposed to be all brown?" "Yes ma'am. Awesome job. Santana, are you almost ready?" "Yeah, just about, one more slice, and voila. The meat's ready to go on the pizza." Santana sprinkled the meat all over the pizza and Brittany dumped the hamburger on. Rachel sprinkled the cheese on and stuck the pizza in the oven. "All right, now all we have to do is wait for it to be cooked and then we can eat." While the pizza cooked, Rachel raided the freezer to see what they could have for dessert. "Hey girls, how about hot fudge sundaes for dessert?" "Sounds good to me" said Quinn. "Me too. Do we have to cook those too?" asked Brittany. "No Britt. We have to melt the chocolate. And cut up strawberries and bananas and sprinkle nuts over the ice cream." "Oh. Well, those sound good. It will give you a little extra sugar on your lips for when Puck kisses you, Rachel." Rachel turned a cherry red while the other girls laughed. Thankfully the buzzer on the oven went off, indicating that the pizza was ready.

Quinn pulled the pizza out of the oven and set it on a burner on the stove to cool while Rachel poured the drinks into glasses. As soon as the pizza was ready, the girls sat down at the island to eat. "Mmm. Good pizza, guys" said Tina. "Thanks. Good daiquiris." Rachel said. She was the first one to finish eating and jumped up to put the remaining slices in a container and start making the sundaes. "Hey Rachel." "Yeah, Santana?" "It's 6:00. Only an hour until lover boy gets here." "I'm going to be seeing him twice this weekend. Tonight and tomorrow. He's coming over to meet Jasmine." Quinn, Brittany, Santana, Tina and Mercedes all looked at one another. "Is he coming over tomorrow night, or tomorrow afternoon?" "Um, I'm not sure. We didn't work that out."

"Well, maybe you guys are kissing, you can work that out. What room should we play the kissing games in?" "In the living room, I guess. There, the sundaes are all ready." The girls tucked into their dessert and had just finished when Jasmine started yawning. "Looks like somebody's ready for bed." Rachel remarked as she stood up and took Jasmine out of the high chair. "Say night-night to the girls, Jasmine." "Good night, Jasmine. You little cutie you, I'm sure we'll be seeing you very soon" said Quinn. "Can you blow kisses to the girls?" "How about we just give her one?" asked Tina. Rachel nodded and carried Jasmine around. The girls kissed her good-night, and then Rachel took her upstairs. She undressed Jasmine, changed her, and dressed her in a baby pink onesie. Then she went to brush her teeth and apply strawberry lip gloss. "Good night, Sweetheart. Sleep well." Rachel went back downstairs and brought the baby monitor into the living room, where the other girls were sitting. "She's so cute, Rachel." "Yeah, she's pretty great." "What are you going to do while you're at work and school? Who's going to watch her?" "She has a nanny that looks after her, so when I'm at school, she'll look after Jasmine and she'll look after her when I'm at work too."

"You should bring her to the glee performances." Tina said. "Yeah, she can chill with us" said Mercedes. "Maybe." Rachel glanced at the clock. It was 7:00. "Half an hour, I can't believe I let you guys talk me into this." "Believe it, darling. Trust me; you'll be thanking us when you and Puck are together." Quinn said. Just then, Brittany's phone buzzed. She flipped it open. "Kurt's not coming. He says he already has plans." "I wonder who with?" mused Rachel, leaning back into the couch. "Don't know." "Hmm. So, can somebody explain to me what 'Seven Minutes in Heaven' is?" "Don't worry, Rachel. We'll explain when the boys get here" said Santana. Rachel nodded, and then looked at the clock. 7:25. "Rachel, stop being so nervous. It will be fine. Just imagine Puck's arms around you, his lips on yours, his fingers running through your hair." "Brittany! Not helping. I can't do this, I'm going upstairs to change right now." "No you're not." Everyone said. Rachel tried to stand up, but Brittany and Tina grabbed her and forced her back down onto the couch between them, holding her down. "Rachel, take a deep breath." Quinn ordered. Rachel nodded and inhaled. "Now let it out." She exhaled. "Again." Rachel took another deep breath. "Okay, now exhale." Rachel breathed out. "One more time." Rachel took one last deep breath and exhaled. "Rachel, you owe this to yourself. You owe another chance to yourself with the one boy who didn't lie to you or hurt you." Rachel nodded. Just then, the doorbell rang. "The boys are here. Time to get this party started." Brittany said. "Oh, Rachel! Go up the stairs and then come down after you count to ten." Quinn said. Rachel nodded and hurried up the stairs. She stood waiting at the top of the stairs and heard Santana say "Show time" as she opened the door.


	7. Let the Games Begin!

"Hey guys." Santana greeted Sam, Puck, Artie, Mike and Finn. "Hey girls, um, where is Rachel?" asked Puck. "She just went upstairs for a second; she'll be back down in a few. Hey Rachel." Quinn called up the stairs. "Yeah?" "Are you coming down?" "Um, yeah, in a few seconds." Rachel was, in fact, on 6. _7, 8,9,10. Okay, here we go. _Rachel took a deep breath and started walking down the stairs. As she came into view, she heard the boys draw in their breath. Rachel climbed down the last few steps. "Rachel? Is that you?" asked Finn. Rachel nodded. "Hi boys" she said shyly. Then her eyes locked with Noah's. "Hello, Noah." She said softly. Puck nodded at her. He didn't seem to be able to speak.

The truth was that as soon as Rachel had come down the stairs, Puck's stomach muscles had clenched. His heart was going at least 50 miles per hour, and all he wanted to do was take Rachel in his arms and kiss her then and there. His eyes locked on hers, then drifted over her toned body, lingering on the purple low-cut halter she was wearing, and then continued to her face. Her cheekbones had been highlighted by a sparkly pink blush, and the eye make-up she was wearing made her eyes stand out. Why had he never noticed how beautiful her eyes were? Yeah, the thoughts he was having were totally the ones that chicks would have, but he didn't care. His heart was swelling so much that it hurt. Somehow, he had to kiss her tonight. Whether they were alone, or in front of the other Glee kids, he didn't care. All he wanted to do was to run his hands through her hair and kiss her soft lips and hold her close.

"Puck? Are you okay?" asked Sam. "Yeah, I'm fine." "Well, let's go into the living room." Tina suggested. The boys nodded and followed the girls into the living room. Puck and Rachel stayed in the foyer. Rachel took a step closer to him. "Noah? Are you all right? You seem a little...speechless." Puck swallowed. "I'm good. Um...let's go in the living room." Rachel nodded and they walked into the living room together. Tina and Mike were sitting on one of the couches, Santana and Finn and Mercedes were sitting on the other, and Brittany was sitting on Artie's lap. Quinn and Sam were sitting in the recliner. Rachel and Puck went and sat down on the loveseat. "So, what are we doing tonight?" asked Sam. "We thought we would play kissing games. Like 'Seven Minutes in Heaven' and 'Spin the Bottle'." Quinn told him. "Sounds good to me." "Okay, can somebody explain 'Seven Minutes in Heaven' to me?" asked Rachel.

"Well, basically the girl goes into a different room, and then a guy comes into the room a few minutes after her and the guy does whatever he wants to her." Brittany explained. "Oh. Okay. Well, why don't we play a combination of those two games? Someone will spin the bottle, and whichever girl it points to, she'll go into...the den, and after she leaves someone else will spin the bottle, and whichever guy it lands in, he can follow her into the den." "Sounds good." Quinn said. Rachel nodded and went to get a bottle from the kitchen. While she was gone, Artie said, "I wonder who the bottle will pick for Rachel." "Obviously, it's going to be me." Finn said. Rachel heard him as she came back into the room. "If it does, Finn, you won't get seven minutes from me, you'll get 3 seconds."

"Rachel, come on. We weren't even together when I had sex with Santana, I don't get why it bugs you so much." "Because, Finn! I told you this yesterday, you lied to me, and lying isn't a promising foundation for a relationship. Let's just start the game. Who wants to spin it first?"

"I'll do it." Brittany said. Rachel nodded and sat back down next to Noah. Brittany put her hand on the bottle and spun. It spun for a few seconds before stopping on Santana. She stood up and left the room. "Someone else's turn" said Brittany, sitting back down. Rachel stood up and walked to the table. With a quick flick of her wrist, she spun the bottle so that it whipped around quickly. While they were waiting for it to land on someone, Rachel prayed _Please don't let it land on Noah, Please don't let it land on Noah._ Finally it stopped...on Finn. He sighed and left the room. Seven minutes later, he and Santana came back. The bottle was spun again, and it landed on Quinn. After she left, Santana spun it and it landed on Sam.

They took a little longer than seven minutes, and everyone was starting to get restless when they came back. Quinn had a couple of hairs out of place and so did Sam. Before they spun the bottle for the third time, Mercedes said "I'm not playing. I'm just a spectator." No one dared to argue with her. Tina spun the bottle and it landed on Brittany. She stood up and gave Artie a little wink before leaving the room. Puck stood up and spun the bottle. To no one's surprise, it landed on Artie. He wheeled out of the room, and came back with Brittany on his lap, his glasses askew and his hair in wild disarray. Artie spun the bottle next and it pointed to Tina. She left the room and Sam spun the bottle. It stopped on Mike. He stood and left and came back with Tina. "I'll spin the bottle." Quinn said. She hopped up off of Sam's lap and spun. It stopped...on Rachel. "You're up, princess." Quinn said. Rachel nodded and glanced at Noah before she left the room. She entered the den and closed the door behind her. The lights were on, and the curtains were open.

She hesitated, then crossed the room and pulled them shut. She flicked all the lights off, except for one. Then she sat on the couch and waited. A few seconds later, she heard the door open and close behind her. She felt someone come and sit next to her on the couch. Her heart pounding, she slowly turned to see who it was. "I promise I won't do anything you're not ready for." Noah said. Rachel nodded. "I was hoping I would get you, Noah." Puck swallowed. She looked even more beautiful in the dark of the room, with only one light. Rachel moved closer to him. Puck raised his hand and brushed a lock of hair from her face, slowly, tenderly. Then he moved his face to Rachel's and rubbed his nose against hers. Rachel closed her eyes and waited for Noah's lips to find hers. She felt them a few seconds later. She went up on her knees and wrapped one of her arms around his neck, putting the other hand on the top of his head. She felt one of his strong hands on the small of her back, massaging the skin. She moaned against his lips and he pulled her down on top of him.

Finally, Rachel had to pull away from him for air. She looked down at him. "I'd forgotten what it felt like to kiss you, Noah." "And...how did it feel?" "Good, I felt more of a connection with you than I ever did with Finn or Jesse." Noah's response to that was to flip their positions and start kissing her again. He pressed kisses to her collarbone and throat, then moved his lips to her ear and started nibbling. Rachel whimpered and squirmed beneath him. Puck stopped, and looked down at her. She pulled his face back down to hers and pressed her lips against his. Puck hesitantly ran his tongue along her bottom lip, and she let his tongue enter her mouth. She tasted like peppermint toothpaste and strawberries. Puck slid his hand across the bare skin of her stomach, down her hip and thigh and rested at her knee. He pulled her leg, hitching it around his hip. Rachel felt fire shoot through her belly and kissed him more roughly. Tentatively, shyly, she reached up to the top button on the black button down he was wearing and unbuttoned his shirt, causing it to hang loose on his body. Puck stopped and looked at her. "Sorry. I can do it back up again." "No, it's okay." Rachel nodded and pushed the sleeves of his shirt down. Once she had gotten it off, she dropped it on the floor, and sat up. "It's been 4 minutes. Our time's almost up." Puck said. Rachel moved her lips to his again, and then slid her fingers over his muscled arms and shoulders, pushing him down onto the couch. She moved her lips from his to his throat, and then let them travel down his chest. She rested her head on his ribcage. She felt his fingers entwine in her hair. "You know, it's not really fair that I lost my shirt, but you didn't lose yours." Puck said. Rachel raised her head to look at him.

"Well, why don't you make me lose it then?" she asked seductively. Puck grinned lecherously and moved his hands to her back. Rachel shivered with anticipation as his fingers untied the knot at the base of her neck. She held her arms up and he slid the shirt over her head. He sucked in a breath and sat up. Rachel smiled. "You like it?" Puck nodded and turned both of them so that they were lying on their sides. He cupped her face and Rachel closed her eyes at the warmth from his hand. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. "I like this bra, Rachel, its pretty." Puck said quietly.

Rachel snuggled against his strong chest and rested her head there. She thought she would like to stay there forever, wrapped in Puck's strong arms and cradled against his warm body. "Noah." "Yeah?" "Do you still want me?" "I do, Rachel. I've wanted you ever since the day we broke up on the bleachers. After Jesse and his team egged you, there was nothing more I wanted to do than hold you and tell you that everything was going to be okay. So yes, I still want you. I was stupid enough to let you go once, I'm not going to do that again and lose you like I did before." "I still want you too." Puck kissed her brow and held her more tightly.

They lay there for a few minutes. "I could fall asleep here." Rachel said softly. Puck started kissing her again. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Startled, Rachel and Puck fell off the couch. "Ow!" Rachel exclaimed, for she had wound up on the bottom and Puck on top of her. "Sorry. Are you okay?" Rachel nodded. "Puck, Rachel, what are you guys doing in there?" Santana's voice came through the door. "Playing 'Seven Minutes in Heaven'." Rachel called back. "Seven minutes? Yeah right, you guys have been in there for like 15!" "Give us five seconds." Rachel called back. She heard Santana moving away from the door and looked at Puck. "Guess we better put our shirts back on and go out and rejoin the rest of the group." Puck nodded. He helped Rachel with her shirt and tied the knot at the back of her neck. Rachel handed him his shirt and he slid his arms into it. Rachel rested her cheek against his bare chest and he pulled her close. "Did you know the first thing I wanted to do when I saw you was to kiss you in front of everyone?" Puck asked, lowering his head to rain kisses on her shoulder, smelling her sweet, soft hair as he did so. "Why didn't you?" "I didn't want to embarrass you." "I wouldn't have been embarrassed, Noah." Suddenly, Rachel wrapped her legs around his waist. She pulled his face back to hers and kissed him again. Breaking away, she rested her forehead against his. "Damn it, Rachel, are you trying to kill me?"

Rachel tilted her head to the side playfully and licked her lips. "Maybe, is it working?" "Hmm, maybe." Rachel giggled and pressed her lips to his again. There was another knock on the door. "Rachel, Puck, are you guys coming out of there, or have you gone a little bit further than just kissing?" Quinn called. "No, Quinn. I didn't let him get to second base, or third. We'll be out in a second." Rachel called back. Then she looked at Puck. "We should go back out, shouldn't we?" "Guess so." Rachel untwined her legs from around Puck's waist and buttoned up his shirt. As they walked toward the door, Puck asked with a smirk on his face, "So, when will we get to second base?" Rachel contemplated for a second, and then said "If you're a good boy, it might be soon." She opened the door and headed back out to the living room with Noah by her side.

"About time, we were starting to wonder if you two had run off to the poolhouse and locked yourselves away." Tina remarked as Noah and Rachel sat down on the loveseat again. Rachel had just gotten settled when the girls looked at each other and nodded. Quinn pulled her to her feet and said "Den, now" and pulled Rachel towards the room that she had just vacated with the other girls following.

Brittany closed the door behind her at the same time Mercedes said "Spill." "We just kissed. That's it." "For 15 minutes? Rachel, come on, you guys must have done more than just kiss." "All right, fine. There was some clothing removal but..." She was interrupted as the girls started squealing.

Back in the living room, the boys all looked at one another. "Okay Puckerman, what happened?" "Uhh, we kissed. And cuddled, and talked a little bit." Just then, they heard the girls squealing. "I don't get why girls go places in groups." Sam said. "Me either." The other boys said.

Back in the den, Rachel waited for the girls to stop squealing. When they did, Santana demanded "What articles of clothing did you remove?" "His shirt, and then he said it wasn't fair for him to lose his shirt since I hadn't lost mine. So, I let him take my shirt off." "Ohhh, Rachel, meow, he saw your sexy little bra." "He said he still wants me." Brittany clapped her hands excitedly. "Okay, I can see when you guys are going to get back together now. You're going to get back together after you sing your song on Wednesday, Rachel." "I'm glad I don't have to wait so long. Now let's get back out there and see if those boys are hungry. I know I am." "No wonder, with all the making out you did." Tina said slyly. Rachel blushed and led the girls back into the living room. "Are you guys' hungry? We are." "Sure, Rachel, do you want help in the kitchen?" asked Finn. "No thank you." Rachel went into the kitchen and put some chips into bowls and grabbed some sodas and put everything on a tray. She carried it back into the living room and set it down on the coffee table. "Here we go guys." She sat back down next to Noah, who tentatively put his arm around her shoulders and started playing with a strand of her hair. Everyone was watching them, especially Finn. Suddenly, Jasmine's crying came through the baby monitor, startling everyone. "Um, I'll be right back, you guys. I have to go check on Jasmine." Rachel got up off the couch, only to teeter on her heels and fall back...into Puck's lap. "Nice of you to drop in, Rachel." Puck said, smiling as he helped her back onto her feet. Rachel smiled back, hesitated, and then pulled Puck off the couch and up the stairs. When they were at the top of the stairs, he asked "Why did you do that?" "Because I thought you might like to see Jasmine." Rachel slid her hand into Puck's and led him to her bedroom. She pushed the door open and walked over to the playpen. "She's beautiful." Noah said softly. "She's a cutie, that's for sure. She must have been having a nightmare or something. She's quiet now." Dropping Puck's hand, Rachel bent down into the playpen and adjusted Jasmine's blankets, smoothing her hand over her goddaughter's back.

She and Puck watched Jasmine sleep for a few minutes, then tiptoed out of the room and went back downstairs. "Everything okay?" asked Quinn. "Yeah, everything's fine. I think Jasmine must have been having a nightmare or something." "That's good that everything's okay, but I should probably jet." Mercedes said. "I'll come with you Cedes, I need to get home." Tina said. Artie had already left with his dad, so only Tina, Mercedes, Quinn, Brittany, Santana, Finn, Sam, and Mike and Puck were left. Rachel and Puck sat down, Rachel slipping her hand into Puck's and lacing their fingers together.

"So are you guys together now, or are you just holding hands with Puck to make me jealous, Rachel?" Finn asked. "I'm not trying to make you jealous, Finn. I already told you, we're finished." "Well, you move on fast don't you? You finish with one guy and move on to the next one." Everyone in the room gasped. "Finn! That was awful, you should apologize to Rachel." Quinn said. "Yeah, that was way out of line, man." Mike and Sam said together. Rachel pressed her lips together to keep them from trembling. "If you feel that way, then maybe you should leave." She said quietly. She gripped Noah's hand more tightly and looked down at her lap. "This is just like that 'Run Joey Run' video thing. You triple-casted three guys without telling any of us, and..." "And you basically called me a slut. I remember." "Well, just imagine what's going to happen when people at school find out that you're back with Puck."

Rachel jumped up, her cheeks flaming and eyes burning. "I don't care about people say about me and Puck! And I don't think he does either. It didn't stop him from dating me before! It's _you _that has the unfortunate tendency to care about what other people think about you and who you date! When you were dating Quinn, oh no big deal but when you start dating the biggest loser in the school, really big deal! Finn, if you had any respect at all, you wouldn't care about people say about you. I don't care about what people say about me, I'm proud of who I am, and I'm the one who has been bullied repeatedly ever since the day I set foot in McKinley High!" "Why are you getting so mad? Puck's just going to hurt you." "No he isn't. I trust him, and I feel a deeper connection with him than I ever did with you or Jesse. I deserve to be happy Finn, and that's not something I was when I was with you." "That's a really nice way to talk to someone who you've invited to your house." "I didn't invite you, and no one said you had to come. If you're done saying hurtful things about me and Noah, please leave, because I don't think I can stand to be in your company right now while you're whining about everything in your life isn't good enough, and how I'm going to go back to the one boy who didn't hurt me and who got really protective when I got egged by Vocal Adrenaline." Rachel paused for breath, then suddenly burst into tears and ran out of the room. "Well done, Finn. Way to kill the party mood." Quinn said.

Puck jumped up and ran after Rachel. He found her in the den, curled up on the couch where they had been blissfully kissing just half an hour before. He sat down next to her and put a hand under her chin, lifting her head up. "I-I'm sorry Noah." "For what? Finn was out of line, Rachel. You were right, you don't deserve to be in a relationship with somebody who's ashamed to be with you just because of your social status at school, and you deserve to be with someone who does make you happy. And I'm honoured to be that person, ya know, in a bad-ass way." As he'd hoped, Rachel giggled and crawled into his lap. He held her and stroked her hair. After a few minutes, Rachel looked up at him and said "I think I'm ready to go back out." Puck nodded and got to his feet, still holding Rachel in his arms. He carried her into the living room. Finn had left. Brittany hopped up as soon as Puck set Rachel down and hugged her. "Are you okay?" asked Santana. "I'm fine." "You look tired. I think we'd better leave you guys, let Rachel get her beauty sleep." Quinn said. While Puck and Rachel had been in the den, Santana, Brittany, and Quinn had gone upstairs and gotten the table from Rachel's room. Rachel saw her friends to the door.

"Thanks for having us over tonight, Rachel that was fun. It gave me a chance to get to know you better." Sam said, smiling at her. Rachel smiled back at him. "I'm glad you guys came. It was fun." "Are you going to be okay here by yourself?" Mike asked. "Yeah, I'll be okay. But I'll tell you what you guys. Next Friday, we'll have a gleek sleepover." "All right, sounds good to me." Santana said. "Me too" Brittany said. Quinn and the boys nodded. Quinn came over and hugged Rachel. "See you Monday, Rach." "Bye Quinn. Bye you guys." "Bye Rachel." Quinn, Brittany, Santana, Mike and Sam walked out the door and down the porch steps. Puck stayed behind. "So, what time do you want me over tomorrow?" "2:30?" "Sure. I'll see you then, Rach." Puck quickly kissed her on the lips and left. Rachel closed and locked the door, then went upstairs and changed into her pajamas. It had been a good day, and tomorrow she would be seeing Puck again. Rachel turned off her light, and went to sleep.


	8. Daddy Puck

Sometime during the night, Rachel woke up to the sound of Jasmine crying. "What's the matter, baby girl?" Rachel asked as she hopped out of bed and switched on her lamp. She plucked Jasmine out of the playpen and held her against her shoulder, rubbing her back and making soothing noises. She carried Jasmine back to her bed and crawled under the covers with her. Jasmine quieted, and her cries became hiccups. "That's better, isn't it Little One?" asked Rachel. Jasmine snuggled against Rachel happily and stuck her thumb in her mouth. Rachel rocked her back and forth, singing lullabies.

She glanced at her clock. It was 2 in the morning. She would be seeing Noah this afternoon. _I don't know if I can wait that long. I don't know what it is about him, but when I'm around him, I feel safe and protected. Like no one or anything can hurt me. Maybe it's his "badassness". _Rachel smiled to herself and leaned back against her pillows. Just then, her phone buzzed. Picking it up, she saw it was a text from Noah. **Hey baby. You doing okay? ** Rachel: **Yeah, I'm fine. I'm home alone so much, I don't really mind. What are you doing up at this hour anyways? **Noah: **I could ask you the same thing. I feel uncomfortable with leaving you and Jasmine on your own. I could come over now and stay the night with you guys if you want. **Rachel hesitated. As much as she was used to staying home alone, she had to admit to herself that she would feel a lot better if Noah was here with her. Rachel:** I'm up because Jasmine started crying and I got up to comfort her. And sure, you can come stay the night with me. **Noah: **Be there soon. Just have to write a note to my mom and tell her where I'm going. **Rachel smiled happily, and sure enough, a few minutes later, she heard Noah's car pull into her driveway. Noah**: I'm outside. **Rachel: **Okay. I'll come down and let you in. **Still holding her goddaughter, Rachel climbed out of bed and ran down the stairs to the front door. Unlocking it, she let Noah in. "Hi." "Hey." Noah said, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. As soon as she'd locked it, Rachel took Noah's hand and led him up the stairs to her bedroom. She put the now sleeping Jasmine back into her playpen and covered her with her blankets. "Are you okay with sharing the same bed?" she asked Noah. "Yeah, I'm fine with that."

They settled into Rachel's bed comfortably. Rachel reached over and shut off the lamp. Noah pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her. "Noah?" "Hmm?" "Why did you want to come over in the middle of the night?" "Because when I left your house earlier, there was this look in your eyes, you looked vulnerable and like you needed someone to stay to make sure you and Jasmine would be safe." "Thank you. I always feel safe and protected when I'm with you, which is something I never felt with Finn or Jesse." "I'll always protect you, Rachel. I know this is a weird thing to ask while we're lying in your bed, but will you be my girlfriend?" "I thought our make-out session would have proven that I will be. But since you asked..." Rachel kissed her way up his throat and chin until she found his lips, letting all of her passion and her feelings for him speak through the kiss. When she pulled away, she asked "Is that answer enough?" "Yeah, more than enough. Go to sleep, Rachel. I'll be here when you wake up." Rachel snuggled closer and Noah tucked her head beneath his chin. They woke up to the sound of Rachel's alarm clock at 6 a.m. "Ugh, Rachel, why do you have your alarm clock set so early?" Noah whined. "Shhh, go back to sleep, Noah." Rachel said, turning over and shutting off her alarm clock. Noah tucked her against his body again. "You're really hot, you know." Rachel said, yawning and snuggling closer. "Are you referring to my reputation as a stud?" asked Noah, smirking. "No, you silly boy, I mean your body heat. I'm warmer than I usually am." "Happy to be of service, ma'am." Noah said. Just as the two of them were drifting off to sleep again, Jasmine started whimpering. Rachel climbed out of bed and picked her up. "Nightmare?" asked Noah. "Yeah, that is a possibility." Rachel climbed back into bed with Jasmine and placed her between herself and Noah. Hesitantly, Noah ran his fingers over her head. "Hi Jasmine" he said softly. Jasmine turned her head in the direction of Noah's voice.

Noah took one of her tiny hands in his and Jasmine gripped his finger with surprising strength. "She's pretty strong." Rachel smiled. "Yeah, she is. I cower for when she's bigger." Noah smiled back at her, and then the smile faded as he looked down at Jasmine. Rachel knew he was thinking about Beth. "You really miss her don't you?" "Yeah, I do. I wish so much that Quinn had wanted to keep her. I wanted to, Rachel. I wanted to push her on the swings and teach her how to walk and how to ride a bike and drop her off at preschool. I know we did the right thing, but I just get this big ache inside every time I think about her. I don't know how to live with myself now. What's Beth going to think when she's older and she finds out that she's adopted because her real mommy and daddy didn't want her?" Noah's voice shook, and tears ran down his face. Rachel looked at Noah, her heart breaking for him. For some reason, Noah chose to show his vulnerable and weak side when he was with her.

Jasmine had fallen asleep again and Rachel put her back in the playpen. Climbing back into bed, she pulled Noah over to her and wrapped her arms around his shaking frame. Noah cried into her hair, soaking it with salty tears. "Shhh, Noah. It's okay. I'm right here. I know you wanted to keep her, and Beth will know why you and Quinn gave her up. She might feel angry and frustrated for awhile, but eventually she'll realize that you guys put her up for adoption because you loved her so much. You'll be a daddy again one day, Noah, and when that day comes, I know you'll give everything you have to that child." "Thanks Rach. I'm sorry. I forgot for a minute that I'm not the only one who's hurting over this. I mean it has to be killing you that..." "Your daughter is being raised by my mother?" "Yeah, I didn't say it because I didn't want to hurt you." Rachel pulled back and sat up. She wrapped her arms around her knees, holding them against her chest. "You're right. It does hurt. I wish so much that my mom wanted me, because even though I'm close to being grown-up, I still need her." "Tell her that." "How? She doesn't want me, remember? I don't have her phone number or anyway of contacting her, and she made it pretty clear on the day of Regionals that she has no interest in being part of my life."

"Rachel, you have to try. Keep trying until she realizes that you do still need her and that you want her to be part of your life." Noah lifted Rachel onto his lap and she laid her head against his chest. "You're going to keep telling me to try until I actually do it, aren't you?" "Yup, I'm just as stubborn as you are." Puck chuckled and Rachel joined in. She glanced at her alarm clock. It was 7:30 now. "What do you say we go get some breakfast? Jasmine won't be up for another hour or so." "Breakfast sounds great." Rachel nodded, pulled her hair into a ponytail and she and Noah tiptoed out of the room.

Once they had arrived at the kitchen, Rachel looked at Noah. "What do you usually eat for breakfast, Noah?" "Um, toast sometimes, but mostly pop-tarts. You ever had those?" "No." "Well, Miss Berry, we'll have to do something about that won't we?" "I guess so. Waffles sound okay?" "Sound great." Rachel nodded and made waffles and coffee for the two of them. "Smells good, babe." "Thank you, Noah. I hope it tastes good." Rachel pulled whipped cream, peanut butter; syrup and strawberry jam out and set them on the island. After fixing their waffles, Noah and Rachel sat down to eat. "Mmm. This is awesome, Rach." "Thanks. I'm glad you like it. Glad to know I can actually cook." "Who told you that you couldn't cook?" Rachel bit her lip and looked down at her plate. "Jesse told me I couldn't cook." Puck rolled his eyes and lifted Rachel off of her chair and sat her on his lap. "Baby, he is wrong. You can cook. Really good, as good as my mom." He kissed her neck, and then sighed. "What's wrong?" "My mom, she's going to flip when she finds out I'm dating a Jewish girl." "Why?" "She's been nagging at me to find a Jewish girlfriend for awhile. She did it when Quinn was living at my place and she told me to when we had our Schindler's List movie night with Chinese food. And not for the first time."

Rachel sensed there was more. "And?" "When I asked you out for the first time, I did it for two reasons. One is because after we had a Torah screening of Schindler's List, I had a really strange dream." "What was the dream?" "That you came to my bedroom. You climbed up the wall outside my window with no shoes on and you were wearing a white nightdress and a Star of David necklace." "Did I say anything?" "No. You just stood there and looked at me. And the other reason is because I wanted to please my mom." "I'm flattered, Noah." "You are? You're not mad at me?" "No. Why would I be mad? How many boys do you know that will do something like that to please their mothers, and admit that they had a dream about a girl?" "Hmm. Good point, not many." Just then, Noah's phone rang. He pulled it out and looked at it. "Hi Mom." "Noah Puckerman! Where are you?" "Mom, I left you a note, telling you that I was going to my friend Rachel's house." "Mhm and why are you there?" Noah rolled his eyes. "Because her parents are away and I was worried about her staying home alone with her goddaughter." "I see. When do you think you'll be home?"

"Um, I don't know." Noah said distractedly because Rachel was kissing his neck. He tightened his grip around her waist to make sure she didn't fall off his lap. "Noah, what's going on over there?" "Nothing, Rachel and I are just talking." Rachel had moved from his neck to his face, peppering kisses all over his cheek and biting on his earlobe. "Noah, are you sure there is nothing going on over there?" "Yes, Mom, other than the fact I asked Rachel to be my girlfriend last night and now she is attacking me with kisses." Rachel pulled back to look at him, pouting her lips. Noah raised his eyebrows at her suggestively and mouthed _You are in trouble little lady._ Rachel's lips twisted into a devilish smirk and started kissing him again. "Okay mom, I've got to go. My Jewish girlfriend apparently needs..." He was cut off by a squeal. "She's Jewish? Oh, Noah, you know what, don't worry about coming home, you can stay there all day if you want." Debbie Puckerman said. "Okay, bye Mom." Noah pressed the 'end' button and looked at Rachel. "Well, there you have it; my mom's thrilled that I'm finally dating a 'nice' Jewish girl." Rachel kissed him one more time and asked "So what does that mean?" "It means that I'll probably get home and find bridal magazines all over the living room. She's probably planning the wedding right now." "Oh, I see." "Yeah, my mom's plan is for me to marry a Jewish girl and have Jewish babies with her." Rachel laughed. "Well, I'm kind in the same place you are. My aunts and grandmothers are always trying to set me up with whatever Jewish boy they can find. But, I've already got one." Puck kissed her throat, secretly thinking that being married to Rachel wouldn't be so bad. But right now... "Okay, missy, you remember that trouble I said you were in." "Mhm. What about it?" "You need to be punished." Rachel gasped as he stood up and slung her over his shoulder. "Noah, the breakfast dishes..." "Not really a concern right now baby. We can get them later." Noah carried her away from the kitchen, Rachel barely having time to grab the baby monitor from the counter. "Put me down, Noah." She squealed as he carried her into the den and closed the door. He reached back and took the baby monitor out of her hand, setting it on the desk.

He set Rachel on the couch, laying her down gently. He supported his own weight as he hovered over her. "Noah, what are you going to do?" she asked nervously. Puck looked down at her. She looked a little worried and scared. "Nothing but kissing, baby, I promise." Rachel relaxed visibly. Puck lowered his lips to her face. He kissed her chin, her nose, her cheeks, and her forehead. He let his lips travel to behind her ear, trailing gentle kisses from her pulse point to her collarbone. He stopped suddenly. "Babe, you're freezing. Why didn't you put a robe or something on?" He reached up and grabbed the blanket that was draped over the back of the couch. He switched their positions so that he was on the bottom and Rachel on the top. He spread the blanket over the two of them. Rachel yawned and snuggled against him. "Sorry I'm so cold."

"Not a big deal." Puck said, running his hand up and down her side to warm her up faster. "Noah, you wouldn't mind spending the day with me, would you?" "Nope, not at all." "Okay, good. I didn't really have anything planned for today, just hanging out with Jasmine." Just then, they heard Jasmine crying. "Okay, she's up. I better go change her and get her dressed. And get myself dressed. Do you want to come?" "Nah, I'll get dressed and watch sports or something." "Okay. See you in a bit." Rachel kissed him and walked out of the den. After changing into the jeans and shirt that he had brought with him, Puck sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. After flipping through the channels, he found a game he wanted to watch. He settled back on the couch and was watching the game when Rachel came downstairs with Jasmine.

Noah turned when he heard her and she smiled at him. He smiled back and she came to sit next to him. "Jasmine, this is Noah." Jasmine gazed up at Noah with her big eyes and he smiled at her. He extended his finger and Jasmine grabbed it. "Well, it didn't take her long to take a liking to you, Noah." Rachel said, laughing as she watched her goddaughter interact with her boyfriend. Noah nodded; Jasmine did seem to like him, which was a good thing. "You're really good with kids you know." "I have a lot of little cousins, and I look after them from time to time. You're not bad with kids yourself." "I have a little sister. Um, I know this is going to sound corny, but you look really beautiful with a baby in your arms." Rachel blushed. "That isn't corny. It's really sweet. Why don't we see what you look like with one in yours, want to hold Jasmine while I go get her breakfast ready?" "Sure." Rachel passed him the baby and left the living room. Noah settled Jasmine on his knee and bounced her gently. Jasmine giggled. "What? What's so funny? Do you like being bounced?" Noah asked. Jasmine looked up at him and blew a raspberry. Puck blew one back at her and Jasmine laughed again. "Sounds like you guys are having fun" Rachel said as she came back into the living room. Noah nodded and made to pass Jasmine back to Rachel so she could give Jasmine her bottle, but Rachel said "Do you want to feed her?" Puck hesitated and then nodded. He took the bottle from Rachel and began to feed Jasmine. "She's a hungry little baby" he said. "Yeah she is." Rachel smiled at Jasmine snuggling deeper into Noah's arms.

Once Jasmine had finished her bottle, Rachel showed Puck how to settle her on his shoulder so that he could burp her. Jasmine reached for Rachel and Puck settled her on Rachel's lap. He watched Rachel expertly tuck Jasmine into her arms, and found himself hoping that one day he would get to watch her do that with his child. Then he mentally gave his head a shake._ Whoa, Puckerman! Slow down there, buddy. You and Rachel just got back together. It's a little too soon to be thinking about marriage and starting a family with her. _"Noah? What is it?" "Nothing just went to Dreamland for a few seconds. You're pretty maternal." "If anyone tried to hurt Jasmine, I'd go crazy on them." "So you would go into mama bear mode then." "Yeah, I'd do the same for any of my other little cousins." "I'm sure you would." The rest of the morning passed by quickly, and when noon rolled around, Noah and Rachel were still sitting on the couch. "Well Noah, its 12 now. What do you feel like having for lunch? I have pizza left over from last night." "Pizza sounds great."


	9. Visiting the Past and the Present

That afternoon while Jasmine was napping, Rachel and Noah laid on the couch, talking and kissing. "Noah?" "Mmm?" "When do you think I should try and contact Shelby?" Noah sat up, gently moving Rachel off of him. He set her on the couch and then lay back down with his head in her lap. "I don't know, Rach. Whenever you feel like you are ready I guess." Rachel nodded thoughtfully, gently running her fingers over Puck's scalp. He closed his eyes, enjoying her ministrations. "You like this?" "Yeah, a lot. It reminds of what my mom did to get me to relax when I couldn't sleep." "Was that when you were little?" "Yeah, after my dad left us, she did it a lot. She hasn't had an easy time of it. She works long hours just to support me and my younger sister, Sarah."

Rachel was silent. She thought about how both of them had grown up without a parent, she without a mother, and Noah without a father. She had never realized until that moment just how lucky she was. Sure, her dads had to travel a lot for work, but they always made time for her when they were home. As if he could read her thoughts, Puck said "You're lucky to have two parents that love you, Rachel. I don't think they would run off and leave their significant other and their kids behind. In the beginning, my dad was just like any other dad. Every day when he came home from work, he'd kiss my mom and then he and I would roughhouse until dinner was ready. After that we would all watch a movie together, and then my dad would take me upstairs and tuck me in. Then one day I came home from school and found him on the couch. I could tell something was wrong, but I didn't know what. When my mom came home, she sent me to my room. I found out later that my dad had lost his job, and he had come home and started drinking. The next two days were the same, and then he was gone."

Puck opened his eyes and looked up at Rachel, who had tears in her beautiful brown eyes. "Oh baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry." "No, it's okay. I just finally understand why you put up the tough guy act at school. It's because you've been hurt before and you don't want anyone else to hurt you. You're scared that someone that you love will leave you again." Puck nodded. "I'll never leave you, Noah. I promise" said Rachel, laying her other hand on his chest. "Thank you." Puck stood up and walked over to his bag. He pulled out a CD case and walked back to Rachel. He handed her the CD. "What's this?" "A CD that I like, do you mind if I put it on?" "No, of course not" Rachel said, though she couldn't help thinking she was going to be subjected to rap and heavy metal. Noah crossed the room to the CD player and placed the CD in. He turned up the volume, loud enough so that they could hear it, but still soft enough that it wouldn't wake Jasmine up. The chords of the first song came on, and Rachel was surprised.

"What is this, Noah?" "Um, I couldn't sleep last night, so I made a CD. For us." Noah walked back to where Rachel was sitting and pulled her to her feet. "What are we doing?" asked Rachel. Puck took one of Rachel's small hands in one of his big ones and placed his other hand at her waist. "Dancing" he answered. Rachel looked up at him with starry eyes. "Noah Puckerman, you may be a badass at school, but here you are a big softie and a romantic." Puck chuckled and spun Rachel out from him, then pulled her back in. Half an hour later, the CD ended. "Noah, just so you know, besides you singing 'Sweet Caroline' for me, making a CD for us is one of the most romantic and sweetest things that a boy has ever done for me." Rachel said as they sat back down on the couch. "I'm glad you liked it. That copy's for you." Rachel smiled and bounced onto his lap, snuggling against his chest. "Noah, I've been thinking about the gleek sleepover next Friday. What if we turned it into a sleepover/costume party and everyone has to dress up?" "Aw Rach do we have to?" "Why not? I think it would be fun, and I would wear something just for you" Rachel said giving him a naughty smirk. Puck groaned as he willed his mind not to travel to dirty places. _This girl does not know what she's doing to me. A thousand pictures of her in sexy costumes just went through my head. Rachel in a maid's costume, cowgirl costume. Okay Puckerman, get it together._ "Noah, what's wrong? You looked like you swallowed a lemon." Rachel squealed as Puck scooped her off his lap and dropped her on the couch.

He hovered over her. "It's not nice to tease, Rach." "I'm not teasing you, I'm perfectly serious. I've been looking for an excuse to throw a costume party for awhile, this is the perfect opportunity." "Okay, you win." "Yay!" Rachel squealed, pulling his head down for a kiss. After he pulled back, Puck said "I guess I need to figure out a costume now." "Why not just the sexy badass you are? White wifebeater, jeans, leather jacket, and you are good to go. Besides, you looked so hot when you were wearing that in the 'Run Joey Run' video." "Okay, well what are you going to wear?" "You'll see." Puck growled and attacked her neck with kisses. Rachel sighed contentedly and turned her head to her right. "Ohhh baby, right there" Rachel said as he bit lightly on her pulse point. Puck pulled back and said "You're like a kitten, you're purring." He kissed the hollow of her throat, then pulled back to look at her. "Can you go as a sex kitten?" he asked hopefully.

Rachel gasped and slapped his chest. "Ouch, baby that hurt" he said. "Noah Puckerman! No I will not go as a sex kitten. They prance around in nothing but high heeled boots, a tail and cat ears and black lingerie." Puck's jeans were suddenly a little too tight at the picture Rachel had painted. "You didn't have a problem when I took your shirt off last night." "That's because we were _alone_. Do you really want the other boys in Glee to see me in nothing but lingerie?" Puck's eyes widened in shock and he quietly sighed with relief as his jeans returned to their normal fit. "Ugh. Okay, I see your point." "But I don't have a problem wearing sexy stuff when it's just you and me alone." Rachel said shyly, looking up at him. "Let's keep it that way." Puck slid down so that he could rest his head on Rachel's stomach. "Babe can you keep doing the scalp massage? It felt really good." He felt Rachel's fingers continue their gentle ministrations and he closed his eyes. He must have fallen asleep because he woke up to Rachel's voice saying "Noah, wake up." Noah yawned and opened his eyes. "Hey there beautiful" he said lazily. "Hey there yourself, I'm sorry I woke you up but Jasmine's awake and I need to go get her." Puck jutted out his lower lip in a puppy dog pout. Then he tightened his grip around his girlfriend. "No you don't, you're staying right here with me." He said before attacking her with kisses. "Noah!" Rachel squealed as he hit a particularly sensitive spot. Laughing, she tried to push him off of her. "Noah, please let me go?" she implored. "Oh okay, but hurry back to me." Puck loosened his grip on her and she slid off the couch and hurried up the stairs. She quickly changed Jasmine and carried her back downstairs. As soon as Jasmine saw Puck, she started squirming in Rachel's arms. "Okay okay Jasmine." Rachel said laughing as she plunked Jasmine into Puck's lap. "Hello you pretty girl. Did you have a good sleep? Hmm? Your godmother and I had a good time while you were sleeping. Yes we did." Puck cooed at Jasmine, who reached up and tried to grab his nose. "Hey, not the nose, cutie. Pucky Puck needs his nose to nuzzle Rachel's neck." Rachel smiled as she watched Puck entertain Jasmine. _He's going to be such a good father one day. _She thought as Puck bounced Jasmine on his knee. "What's up baby?" asked Puck. "Nothing, I'm just watching you. You know, Noah, I don't mind sharing Jasmine, if you want to be her adopted godfather or something."

Puck nearly dropped Jasmine in shock. "Wh-what? Are you serious? I mean, she is your cousin and goddaughter." "That doesn't matter. People who aren't directly related to a baby can still be their godparent. Please Noah? I really want to do this for you. I know how hard it was for you to give up Beth and it will give...you all the more experience for when you become a father again." Rachel looked at him with pleading eyes. "Rach...what did I do to deserve you?" "You didn't hurt me or lie to me time and time again like Finn and Jesse did. We deserve another chance at a relationship with each other. If I hadn't been so stupid and obsessed with Finn last year, I would have seen that when we broke up on the bleachers." Puck reached for Rachel and pulled her close. "Thank you Rachel, and yeah I will be Jasmine's adopted godfather." They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Puck said "I should go baby. I'll see you tomorrow at school." He passed Jasmine to Rachel and stood up. Rachel followed him to the door with Jasmine. "Say bye-bye to Noah, Jasmine." Puck pulled his girlfriend and Jasmine into a hug and kissed both of them goodbye. "See you soon, Jasmine." He said.


	10. A Reunion and a Reconcilation

The next morning, Rachel stood at her locker gathering her books for her first class. She jumped when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist. "Good morning beautiful" said Noah, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Morning" Rachel said, snuggling deeper into her boyfriend's embrace. Then she turned around to face him. "I think Jasmine misses her god daddy. She was looking for you this morning." "Oh is that so? Well, maybe I can come over after you are done work and see my little princess and you of course. My other princess." "That would be nice" Rachel said standing on tip-toe to press a kiss to his mouth. Puck returned the kiss, then looked down at Rachel and said "Do you want to go somewhere today at lunch?" "Where would we go Noah?" "I don't know. We'll figure it out."

Just then, the bell rang. Puck and Rachel both groaned. "See you at lunch baby. Pick you up here?" "Okay." Puck kissed her goodbye quickly and headed off down the hallway. Rachel watched her boyfriend go, and then turned back to her locker to retrieve her books. "Hi Rachel!" Rachel turned to see Brittany. "Hi Brittany, how was the rest of your weekend?" "Fine thanks. Want to walk to class together?" "Sure." The two girls headed off down the hall to their English class. Santana and Quinn were already there. No sooner had Rachel sat down Quinn said, "So, how was your afternoon with Puck yesterday Rachel?" "More like the whole day. He came back over at 2 in the morning." "Why?" asked Santana. "Um, he said that he didn't feel entirely comfortable with leaving me and Jasmine alone so he spent the rest of the night and the whole day with me." "Awww" chorused the three Cheerios. "Did you wear your sexy new pajamas?" asked Brittany. "No, I'm saving those for something special, like maybe the sleepover at my house this week." "Wear the pink negligee. Did Jasmine and Puck get along okay?" asked Santana. "Yeah they did. He's so good with her, and he did a really romantic thing for me." "Well, come on, don't be shy. Tell us!" Quinn exclaimed. "He made a CD for us. It was all love songs and the first song that came on was 'Sweet Caroline'. I was sitting on the couch and then he pulled me up off of it and we started dancing." "Oh Rachel, you are in love." Quinn said. "Yeah I am. He's taking me somewhere today at lunch." Just then the teacher walked in, and the class was called into session.

An hour and a half later, the class was dismissed. As they were walking down the hallway, Rachel marvelled at how much had changed in a year. This time last year the three Cheerios wouldn't have dared to be seen with Rachel. And now look at them. They were walking down the hallway and discussing clothes, boys, everything that teenage girls were supposed to do with their friends. They paused with Rachel at her locker so she could switch over her books. "Hey guys, you know that sleepover we're having this weekend at my place?" "Yeah, what about it?" asked Quinn. "Well, Noah and I were discussing it yesterday and I suggested we make it a costume/sleepover party. Everyone would have to dress up." "Oh that would be so much fun!" exclaimed Brittany. "Yeah totally, so what are you going to be, Rachel?" asked Santana. "Well, Puck being Puck asked if I could go as a sex kitten, but I shot down that idea. But I would like to look sexy. And I was hoping you guys could help me?" "Of course, we'll find something sexy, Rachel. Since we don't have Glee or Cheerios practice tomorrow, we'll go costume shopping." Santana said. "Okay. We should dress Jasmine up too. If we're going to be dressed up, then it's only fair that she gets to wear a costume." Rachel said. "Yay, girls' trip tomorrow!" Brittany squealed. "Since Noah and I aren't going to be at lunch today, could you girls tell the other Glee kids?" "Sure, no problem Rachel, see you in glee this afternoon." Quinn said as she, Brittany and Santana headed off to the gym to get some cheer practice in. Rachel walked in the opposite direction to her History class. She slid into her chair and opened her notebook. "Hey Berry." Rachel had to roll her eyes. Of course this was the class that she had with Dave Karofsky and Hank Azimio. She turned around, plastering a fake smile to her face. "Yes, what do you need?"

"Saw you getting all cuddly with Puckerman this morning." Karofsky drawled. Rachel shrugged. "Yeah, what's it to you?" she asked. "We thought you liked the golden boy type like Hudson, not the Lima Loser type like Puckerman." Azimio said. Rachel bristled and her eyes narrowed. "Puck is NOT a Lima Loser. I can't believe you two have the impudence to say that _my_ boyfriend is a Lima Loser, because he's not! He's a strong man who gave up his baby girl so that she could have a better life. I don't call that Lima Loser material, I call that having courage to do something even if it will break your heart. He sacrificed his own happiness for the sake of his baby girl, and that's the kind of man I want." "Oh yeah, I heard that your mom chose Puckerman and Fabray's baby girl over her own daughter. Guess that's another person that doesn't want you." Karofsky said, leaning over to high-five Azimio. Rachel clenched her jaw. On the inside she just wanted to burst into tears, but she wasn't going to give these Neanderthals the pleasure of seeing her cry.

"Are we done here? Because I have better things to do than to waste my time listening to you two abuse my boyfriend and myself." Rachel snapped. "Yeah sure, we're done." Azimio said, smirking. Rachel turned back around in her seat. Somehow she managed to get through her class. When the bell rang for lunch, she gathered her books and flounced out of her class. She reached her locker and spun the combination. _I can't let Azimio and Karofsky get to me. No matter what they say, Noah isn't a Lima Loser, he's my Noah, and that's good enough for me. I told him I'll never leave him, and I won't. _Just then, Puck sauntered up. "Hey my little hottie." He drawled. Rachel smiled and pressed her body against his. "Hey. I missed you" she whispered seductively, before closing her locker and pushing him up against it. "My my, Miss Berry, what's gotten into you? I didn't think you were into public displays of affection." Puck said, slightly surprised at how strong she was. Rachel smirked and snaked her arms around his neck. "Oh but I am, Puckerman." She said sassily, before pulling his head down and kissing him. She took his bottom lip between her teeth and nibbled delicately. Puck growled and snaked his hand from her waist up to the place where the back strap of her bra was.

A little further down the hall, Quinn and Brittany and Santana were watching the couple with smirks on their faces. "Oh Rachel." Quinn sighed, smiling and shaking her head as she watched Rachel attack Puck's lips. "They are so adorable" cooed Brittany. "Mmm, they are, but we still have a lot to teach her." Santana said. "Like what?" asked Brittany. "How to keep Puck in line, and..." "San, somehow I think Rachel can handle her man, and if you were going to say how to seduce him, I think she knows how to do that too." Quinn said. "Yeah, you're right. I'm interested to see how their relationship will turn out." "Maybe Puck will propose to her and they'll run away and get married." Brittany said excitedly. "You are such a romantic, Britt" said Quinn. "Man, look at them. They've been kissing for like 5 minutes and they haven't broken away for air yet. I guess Berry's lungs are good for other things than just singing." Santana said. "San! Okay, that's enough. Let's go to lunch" said Quinn. The three Cheerios bounced off to the cafeteria at the same time that Rachel and Puck broke apart.

"Ready to go?" asked Puck. "Yeah let's go." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there. You need a jacket, I'm not going to have your dads come home and find you sick because I didn't take care of you." "Well, aren't we all paternal?" said Rachel, winking at him as she opened her locker again and retrieved her jacket. She put her arms through it and zipped it up. Closing her locker, she grabbed Puck's hand and they walked down the hallway. As soon as they reached his truck, Puck opened the passenger door and boosted her in. He walked to the driver's side and climbed up into the truck. "So, where would you like go my lady? Your wish is my command." Noah said. "Surprise me." Rachel said, smiling. "Okay, we're going to get a pizza with no cheese and then I'm taking you somewhere special." "That sounds lovely, Noah." Rachel said. She settled back against the seat and closed her eyes. She thought over her morning, and what Karofsky and Azimio had said to her. _Come on Rachel, just let it go. It doesn't matter._ She thought. Puck glanced over at her. "What's wrong babe?" "It's nothing, Noah. Don't worry." She stared out the window. "I thought that you would be singing along to the music on the radio. I love to hear you sing Rach. You know that." Puck said, trying another tack. Rachel smiled. "I'm just saving my voice for Glee this afternoon." She went back to staring out the window. Puck looked at her carefully. He had a feeling that something had happened this morning, but he wasn't going to push Rachel into telling him.

They arrived at the pizza place. Puck stopped the truck and looked at Rachel. "Is pepperoni okay?" "Yeah, that's fine." "Okay, I'll be back in a minute." Puck climbed out and went in to place their order. A few minutes he came back, a pizza box in his hands. He climbed back into the truck. "Pizza smells good." Rachel said. "You know what would be really good?" asked Puck, smirking. "Mmm? What's that?" "If I covered you in tomato sauce and then licked it all off." Puck answered. "Noah! You naughty boy, that is... you know what I would prefer if it was chocolate instead." Puck's mouth dropped open. At the same time he was thinking,_ Damn my woman is feisty. _Puck glanced over at Rachel, who had a smirk playing on her lips. "You are a bad girl, Rachel Barbra Berry. What did I tell you about teasing yesterday?" "Oh Noah, you know you like it."

Puck shook his head and kept driving. He pulled into a park resort. "Where are we?" asked Rachel. Puck climbed out of the truck, grabbing the pizza box as he went. He came around to Rachel's side and helped her out. "You'll see." He took her by the hand and led her down the path. A few minutes later they came to a lake. A few feet away from it was a gazebo. Puck led Rachel up the steps and they sat down on the floor. "This is beautiful, Noah. It's so quiet and peaceful out here." "Better than the lunchroom at school huh?" asked Puck, opening the pizza box and handing a slice to Rachel. "Much better, but you still haven't told me where we are." "This is where my parents were married. And even though I hate my dad for leaving us, at the same time I feel close to him when I come here." Rachel looked at him and moved closer to him. She leaned against his chest and he kissed the top of her head. "Thank you for bringing me here, Noah." "You're welcome. Just so you know you're the first girl I've ever brought here. I thought you would be able to appreciate the beauty of all of this."

Rachel felt her heart expand at his words. They sat there for a few minutes in silence. Then Puck said "In the spring, you can rent a boat and go out on the lake. We could do that one day." "That sounds perfect, but we should go back to school soon." They finished off the pizza, and Noah pulled Rachel to her feet. Wrapping an arm around her waist, they walked back to Puck's truck, only stopping to put the empty pizza box in the trash. During their drive back to school, Rachel slid over into the middle seat and snuggled against him. "Are you cold?" Noah asked. "No. I just felt like snuggling." Puck grinned and slid an arm around Rachel's shoulders. She was quiet on the ride back to the school. When Puck dropped her off at her locker, she said "See you in Glee this afternoon." Puck nodded and headed off to his science class. Sam and Mike were there. "Hey Puckerman, how was your date with Rachel?" Sam asked as Puck sat down. "It was good, but she was really quiet. I think something happened this morning, she didn't even sing along to the radio. She just...stared out the window the whole time." "Well, maybe you can ask her again this afternoon in Glee. She might open up if there are more people around." Sam said. "Yeah maybe she will. I hope so." Just then Finn came into the classroom. "Hey guys. Puck, I think there's something you should know." "Okay, what is it?" asked Puck. He had a sinking feeling in his gut that he was about to find out what it was that had Rachel so upset.

"I was on my way here, and I saw Shelby Corcoran walking towards 's office." Puck and Mike's eyes widened. Sam however looked confused. "Am I missing something here? Who's Shelby?" "She's the former coach of Vocal Adrenaline, who by the way, is our mortal enemy, and she's Rachel's mom." Mike told him.

"Oh. So what's the big deal? Rachel's mom came to the school, maybe to visit her?" "That could be, but I doubt it. Last year after Regionals, Rachel talked to her mom and Shelby basically said that she didn't want Rachel after all the trouble she went to. She sent her male lead, Jesse to pretend to be Rachel's boyfriend, when in reality she was having him spy on us. Then Jesse broke up with Rachel not only in front of us but in front of his team too, and then that douche and his team egged her." Puck finished. Sam was shaking his head. "Oh man. That's intense. Poor Rachel. I know she's been bullied and everything, but that's just nasty. What kind of a person does that? Saying that they want to meet their daughter and then deciding they don't want her anymore? And as for the egging, if the slushies weren't bad enough, that's got to be even more embarrassing." "Yeah, I wanted to kill Jesse for doing that to her." Puck said. "Man, we all did. No one messes with one of our girls and gets away with it." Mike said. Finn nodded in agreement. "Puck, I'm really sorry for what I said about you and Rachel the other night. Bros?" Finn held out his fist for Puck to bump. Puck hesitated, and then bumped his fist against Finn's. "Yeah, we're cool." "Hey, when you tell Rachel this, break it to her gently." Finn said. "Yeah, this could destroy her." Puck agreed.

Meanwhile, Shelby was standing at the closed door of 's office. She hesitated, and then knocked on the door. "Come in." Shelby placed her hand on the doorknob and turned it. "Hello Will." Will looked up. "Miss Corcoran. Come in." Shelby closed the door behind her. Will gestured for her to take a seat. "Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee?" "No thank you. I know you're probably wondering why I'm here. It's because I wanted to talk to you about Rachel. You're really the only teacher I know at this school and you probably know her the best of all." "Rachel's fine. She always throws herself into her assignments in Glee club, and I know she is doing well in all of her classes. Shelby, can I ask you a question?" "Of course." "Have you seen Rachel since Regionals?" "From a distance, but it's only because I thought she wouldn't want to have anything to do with me. Has she...talked about me at all?" "Not to me, she hasn't. If she's talked to any of the other Glee kids about you, I wouldn't know." Will said.

Then he folded his hands and leaned forward. "Do you really think it is better to forget that you have a teenage daughter and replace her with a baby?" "I don't know. My heart is torn on that matter. Part of me wants to have Rachel in my life, and I want her to want me in her life too, but the other part of my heart is telling me to just leave her be. Will, if it's not too much to ask, could I sit in on the rehearsal this afternoon?" "I'll have to talk to the kids about it first." "Of course, and if they decide they don't want me there, I'll understand. Here's my cell phone number." Shelby pushed a piece of paper across the desk and stood up to go. "I'll let you know as soon as I talk to the kids." Shelby nodded and went out, closing the door behind her. Will sighed, and stood up. He had an announcement to make.

"Attention please. Will all of the New Directions members come to the choir room during free period? Thank you." Will spoke into the intercom. Rachel was standing at her locker when Puck came by. "Hey baby. Want to walk to the choir room together?" he asked her. She turned to him and he saw that the pain from that morning was still there. He took her hand in his and rubbed the knuckles gently. "You know, eventually I'm going to find out what happened this morning." Rachel nodded and closed her locker door. "I wonder what this is all about." She said as they were walking to the choir room. Puck shrugged. "We're about to find out." He wrapped an arm around her waist and led her through the choir room door. looked up and smiled. "I'm not surprised you two are back together." He said. "Why not?" asked Rachel. "Come on babe, it's because we're both good-looking Jews." Puck said, smirking. and Rachel laughed. "Have a seat you guys. The rest of the club should be here in a few minutes." Puck and Rachel complied. Rachel grabbed Puck's hand and squeezed it. The rest of the club came in. When Brittany saw Puck and Rachel holding hands, she started jumping up and down, clapping her hands together. Everyone laughed as they sat down. clapped his hands together. "Okay guys, the Glee meeting is called to order. I had a visitor this afternoon and...yes Brittany?" Brittany cocked her head to the side and said "Mr. Schue, I thought men didn't get periods." All the girls turned to look at her while the boys choked and looked squeamish.

"Men don't menstruate, Britt. I think meant he had a person visit him this afternoon." Rachel told her gently. "Oh." Artie patted her hand and resumed talking. "Anyways, this afternoon, Shelby Corcoran came to see me." Everyone's eyes widened. Puck felt Rachel stiffen beside him and he squeezed her hand. She turned to look at him and he saw that her face had gone as white as paper. "It's okay, I've got you." Rachel managed a small smile and leaned against him. "Shelby wanted to know if she could come and sit in on the rehearsal this afternoon." finished. "Why does she want to do that?" asked Mercedes. "I think it's because she wants to see Rachel." replied. Then he looked at Rachel. "Rach, this is your call. Shelby said she would understand if you didn't want her here." "Honey, it might be easier for you to talk to Shelby in front of us instead of just the two of you alone." Puck said. "Puck's right, Rachel, and if things went badly we would all be here for you." Quinn piped up. "Yeah Rachel. Sometimes people need back-up. You don't have to do everything alone." Brittany added. Everyone stared at her. This was the most profound statement they had ever heard Brittany say. Rachel hesitated, and then nodded. "You guys are right. , I want Shelby to come to the rehearsal this afternoon." "Okay. I'll call her and let her know. You guys are free to go and I'll see you this afternoon." The club filed out and Mercedes and Tina walked with Rachel to her locker so she could get her books for her next class.

The three of them walked to class together and took their seats. "Why did I do that you guys? First Shelby decides she wants to meet me, and then she decides she doesn't want me, now she wants to come to our rehearsal this afternoon? What's her deal? I don't even know why I said that she could come to the rehearsal, and I'm not sure I'm ready to talk to her yet." "Rachel, it's like the situation with Puck. You guys are giving a relationship with each other another shot, and you deserve another shot with your mom too. And Shelby deserves a shot at watching you grow up." Tina said. Rachel nodded and Mercedes rubbed her back comfortingly. "It's all gonna work out Rachel. You'll see." Just then, Finn walked into their Spanish class. "Hey Rach? I'm really sorry for the things I said about you and Puck the other night at your place. I already apologized to him, but you deserve an apology too. Can we still be friends?" Rachel nodded and got up from her seat to hug Finn. "Thank you Finn." "You're welcome, and you know what, Puck can probably keep up with you a lot better than I can, and you deserve a guy who is going to put you first all the time. I know I didn't do that, and I should have. But when I see you with Puck, you look happy, and that's all I want for you."

The last period of the day passed quickly. Shelby walked down the hall and turned into the choir room. "Hi Will." "Hi Shelby." "Thank you for letting me be here. I kind of miss being in a choir room. What you said to me earlier, you're right. I shouldn't have done that to Rachel and I'm hoping she'll give me another chance with her." Will smiled. "You're welcome. And somehow I think she will give you another chance. She gave Puck another one. But, Shelby, you have to realize that Rachel might freeze up a little bit at the beginning." "I know. And I won't blame her if she does." Will guided her to the rows of chairs set up on the bleachers and she sat down. As the final bell rang, announcing school was over for the day; Puck walked up to Rachel at her locker and gently pinched her waist. "You ready?" he asked. Rachel turned to face him and he could see the apprehension in her eyes. "I guess so." Puck closed her locker door and pulled her into a hug. She rested her head against his chest. "Everything is gonna be okay, Rach. I'm right here, I've got you and I won't let you fall." "Thank you Noah." Just then, Quinn, Brittany and Santana walked up, closely followed by Tina and Mike, and Finn, Mercedes, Sam and Artie joined them. "Okay Rach, let's do this. Are you ready?" Tina asked. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go." Rachel said. The Glee kids walked down the hall together.

Upon arriving at the choir room, they paused. Rachel saw Shelby sitting on the bleachers and her body stiffened. "Okay, I don't know if I can do this you guys. Would it be really bad if I just ran away right now?" "Rachel, look at me. It doesn't do any good to run away from stuff because eventually it will catch up with you. Believe me, I know. We're all here, we've got you." Puck said. "Take deep breaths Rachel. Puck's right, we're not going to let you fall." Quinn said. Rachel's eyes filled up with tears and she threw her arms around Quinn. Quinn was slightly surprised, but wrapped her arms around Rachel and patted her on the back. "Hey what about us, can this be a Glee club group hug?" Brittany asked. Everyone laughed and Rachel and Quinn let go of each other and held their arms out. The girls and Artie in the middle, the boys made up the outside. They stood there for a few minutes. Then Mike said "Girls and Artie sandwich." They all laughed and broke apart. They filed into the room with Puck and Rachel bringing up the rear.

Shelby looked up as the kids came in, but she only had eyes for one person. She looked at her daughter closely. Rachel had gotten bangs and was wearing a little more make-up. Shelby mentally shook her head. This was her little girl and she needed to fix things with her before it was too late. "Hello Rachel." Rachel licked her lips and said "Hi Shelby." She and Puck sat down. "All right guys, so as you can see we have a special guest with us this afternoon. Miss Shelby Corcoran." Everyone applauded politely. "Shelby, why don't you come up here and introduce yourself?" Will asked. Shelby nodded and stood up. She walked to the front of the room and turned to face the kids. "Hi, my name is Shelby Corcoran. I'm Rachel's mom, and I'm here to talk to her and hopefully fix things with her." "Guys, why don't you tell Shelby your names?" suggested. "I'm Brittany." "I'm Artie." "Finn." "I'm Sam and I don't like green eggs and ham." Shelby chuckled. "Mercedes." "Tina." "Mike. Also known as the Changster." "I'm Santana." "I'm Quinn, but you already know that because you adopted my daughter." "I'm Puck." "It's nice to meet all of you. I'm looking forward to listening to you guys this afternoon." Shelby said cordially. Then she turned her attention to her daughter, who was clinging to Puck's hand like it was her only support.

"Rachel, before you say anything, let me say something first." Shelby said. Rachel nodded and Shelby took a deep breath. "Rachel, I've realized that I shouldn't have abandoned you at Regionals like I did. That was wrong. I was so sure that it would be better if I just let you be and let you move on with your life that I let you go. But it isn't any better. Every day since Regionals, I've wondered what would have happened if I hadn't done that. All I know is that I wasn't fair to you. To give Jesse the assignment of getting close to you so I could meet you wasn't the mature thing to do. And then when I did meet you, I let you down and I let myself down, although I didn't realize the latter at the time. The last couple of months have helped me to see that it sucks not knowing what's going on in your life, and that I should be grateful that I have both a beautiful teenage daughter and a baby daughter, even though Beth isn't completely mine. But you are Rachel. After I had given birth to you and you were getting cleaned off, you turned your little eyes to mine and I knew then that you knew that I was your mom. When I heard you sing 'Don't Rain On My Parade' last year at Sectionals, I wanted to stand on my seat and shout to the whole world that you were mine, that I had made you. Rachel, I know I probably don't have the right to ask this, but will you give me another shot? Will you give me another shot at being your mom and not just your mother? Because ever since the day of your birth, I've tried to love you from afar, but that's not working anymore, not now that I've seen what a beautiful young woman you have grown into. I've always loved you Rachel, because that's what a mother is supposed to do. Please Rachel, give me another chance. Please?" Shelby pleaded, her voice cracking with emotion.

Rachel had been silent the whole time Shelby had been talking. She watched her mother's shoulders shaking with sobs, and her lips trembling like a five year olds. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, and they were all thinking the same thing: _Please don't be hard on her Rachel; this woman just poured her heart out to you. You could break her heart if you say no. _

Rachel swallowed and took a deep breath. Shelby looked at her from the chair had guided her to. "Shelby, when you rejected me, I was so angry with you, although I didn't show it at the time. I lay awake for hours that night, trying to think of what I had done to deserve being rejected by my own mother." Shelby cringed, but she didn't break eye-contact with Rachel. Rachel continued speaking. "I felt like I was one of your favourite shirts, one that you had worn over and over again because you loved the way it looked, the way it felt. Then, all of a sudden, you decided to throw me away and trade me in for something you thought was better. My wish to know you and have you in my life isn't selfish. Ever since the day I set foot in McKinley High, I've been tormented every day. And I needed you for all of that. Ever since my first day of school, I've been slushied; I've had pornographic pictures of me drawn on the bathroom walls, and I've had to deal with the whispers in the lunchrooms and nasty comments on my MySpace page and horrible stories and rumours on Jacob Ben-Israel's blog." While Rachel had been telling Shelby about the bullying, Quinn, Santana, Brittany, and Puck all squirmed uncomfortably and exchanged guilty looks with one another. They all knew that out of everyone that had tormented Rachel, the four of them had been her biggest tormentors. They turned their attention back to what Rachel was saying. "Shelby, I needed you when I was wearing a slushie on my face every day and I needed you when Jesse broke my heart and egged me along with the rest of Vocal Adrenaline." Shelby's eyes widened with shock and anger. She looked at Will for confirmation and he nodded. Shelby pursed her lips and thought that she might email Jesse that night and give him a piece of her mind. She turned her attention back to Rachel who said "When we performed at Regionals, Quinn's mom came to watch. She wanted Quinn back, but you just walked out of my life and replaced me with Quinn and Puck's baby. And I still need you because I need to tell someone that instead of being in love with the goofy jock on the football team..." Rachel shot Finn a smile and he smiled back at her. "...My heart has been captured by the boy who tortured me relentlessly for two years but he was the first one to look out for me when Jesse broke my heart." Puck looked at her, his heart expanding with love for his girl. Rachel licked her lips and said "So Shelby, my answer is...I don't know if I can just say yes right away to you being my mother, because I'm still scarred by what you did, but I think you and I can slowly work towards having a relationship." Shelby nodded, her face disappointed but hopeful at the same time. At least Rachel hadn't said no, Shelby wasn't sure if she could have handled that, but slowly working towards a relationship with her biological daughter was the best hope she could have.


	11. A Serious Discussion

After Glee rehearsal was finished, Puck and Rachel walked to the parking lot together. "That was quite a day huh?" asked Puck. Rachel nodded and smiled. "What?" Noah asked her. "I'm just glad I decided to let go of the past and embrace the present. Start fresh with Shelby" Rachel said. Noah smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Me too, baby, me too. What are you going to do about your dads?" Noah asked. Rachel furrowed her brow and bit her lip. "I don't know, but Dad and Daddy have to realize that Shelby is just as much my parent as they are. I'll have a talk with them when they get home." Rachel glanced at her watch. "I should get going. I don't want to be late for work." "Okay. I'll see you after you're done okay?" Noah said. Rachel nodded and he pressed a kiss to her lips. Rachel got into her car and drove away. After she arrived at the dance school, she changed into her leotard and ballet shoes and twisted her hair into a bun. She went into her classroom and her students sprang to their feet. "Hello girls." "Hello Madame Berry." They chorused back.

"Are you guys ready to start dancing?" Rachel asked, and the girls nodded. "Okay, let's start warming up." For twenty minutes they stretched until their bodies were warm and limber. Then they began where they had left off on Friday. "Well done, Sierra, you practiced this weekend, didn't you?" "Yeah, Morley and I practiced for an hour on Saturday." Sierra said proudly. "Good, practice makes perfect." Rachel said before going to help Tessa. Half an hour later, they cooled down. Rachel and the girls were sweaty and exhausted. "Well done you guys. All of you worked really hard today. I'll see you on Wednesday all right?" The girls nodded and left the classroom. After Rachel had locked up and turned the lights off, she left the school.

Ten minutes later, she pulled up at her house. She opened the door to find Jasmine and Lucy Clark, Jasmine's nanny, waiting for her. "Oh there's my little angel. Did you miss me, sweetheart?" Rachel cooed at her goddaughter, who squirmed in Lucy's arms. "She certainly did miss you. She started crying as soon as you left the house this morning" Lucy said as she passed Jasmine to Rachel. Jasmine sighed happily and cuddled into Rachel's chest. "I'll see you tomorrow Rachel." Lucy said, putting on her coat and leaving. Rachel waved and closed the door behind Lucy. "Okay sweetie, your god daddy's coming over, so I need to go shower and get cleaned up." Rachel headed up the stairs with Jasmine and settled the baby in the playpen while Rachel got into the shower. After drying off and pulling on a pair of sweatpants with a matching hoodie, she headed back downstairs with Jasmine. She dialled his cell number and waited. "Hello?" "Hi Noah, it's me. Come on over." "Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes, baby." "Okay." Rachel and Noah hung up.

A few minutes later, Noah bounded up the front steps and knocked on the door. Rachel pulled it open. "You don't have to knock you...mmph." Rachel was interrupted as Noah pressed his lips to hers. Jasmine whimpered. "Oh, I'm sorry, Jasmine. I'm sorry my little princess. Noah forgot to say hello to you didn't he? Oh." Noah cooed at Jasmine. Jasmine held her arms out to Noah and he took her into his arms. He kissed Jasmine on the cheek. "Is that better? Am I forgiven now?" Noah asked Jasmine, bouncing her in his arms. Rachel closed the door behind him and led him into the living room. He passed Jasmine back to her godmother and sat down on the couch, holding his girls against him. "How was work?" Noah asked Rachel. "It was good, all of them worked really hard today and practiced this weekend." "That's awesome, I can't wait to see you guys perform." Noah said. "Mmm, me either." Rachel said, yawning. "Tired?" "Mhm. Dancing always wears me out." "I could wear you out." Noah said, with a suggestive flick of his eyebrows. "Noah! Don't talk like that in front of the baby. Keep it PG!" Rachel said, shaking her head. "Sorry." Noah said, pressing a kiss to the top of Rachel's head. They were quiet for a few minutes. Then Noah said "Rachel is something burning?" "No, why?" "I smell smoke. Were you baking or something when I came over?" "No. I'll go check the kitchen." Rachel said, passing Jasmine to Noah and leaving the room. Noah wrapped his arms around Jasmine and held her against his chest. He breathed in her baby scent and rocked her back and forth. Rachel came back into the living room and said "There's nothing burning in the kitchen." Noah nodded, only hearing half of what she said because he had just found the cause of the smell. "Noah, what is...?" Rachel trailed off as she followed his gaze.

There, on the table, was a plate of cigarette butts. Rachel put a hand to her forehead. "I knew there was something fishy about that woman, I just couldn't put my finger on what it was." Rachel bent down and picked up the plate of cigarette butts to take them into the kitchen. Once she was in the kitchen she wet each of the cigarette butts and then threw them into the trash. She scrubbed the plate vigorously with dish soap and bleach. Once she was satisfied with how clean the plate was, she dried it and placed it into the cupboard. Then she went back into the living room. Once she was sitting down, she said to Noah "What am I going to do? I know I have to tell Leon and Sarah to fire Lucy, but who's going to watch her now while I'm at work and at school?"

"Don't worry Rachel, we'll figure out something. But for now we need to make dinner, you need to eat and I'm sure Jasmine does too." Rachel nodded, making a mental note to herself to contact her fathers and her cousins as soon as possible to arrange for another baby sitter. Then Noah said "You know, I bet we could ask my mom and some of the other Glee moms to look after Jasmine while we're at school, and then while you're at work the Glee kids can take turns looking after Jasmine" "Oh Noah, that would be wonderful, but do you really think they would? Like would they know how to care for a baby?" "Yes, we've all taken a baby-sitting course, although Finn might need a little help, but we can always have him and someone else here no problem." Rachel nodded. "Okay. Let's do it." Rachel quickly texted the Glee kids and had their responses back almost immediately, saying that they and their moms would be happy to help out. She also called her fathers and cousins to let them know of the situation, and Leon and Sarah promised to let Lucy know that she was released from her job as Jasmine's nanny.

After dinner, Rachel and Noah put Jasmine to bed, and decided to go to bed themselves. As they were settling in under the covers, Rachel received a text from Brittany saying that her mom, Trina, would be happy to look after Jasmine the next day.


	12. Shopping For Costumes

The next day, Rachel headed off to school after leaving Jasmine with Trina. "I really appreciate this, Mrs. Pierce." "Call me Trina, Rachel. And it isn't a problem. I love babies." "Okay, I'll be back after school to pick her up. The girls and I are going on a little shopping trip for costumes for my party this Friday night." "Yes, Brittany mentioned that. Have a good day at school, dear." "Thanks Trina. Bye Jasmine, you be a good girl for Trina okay?" Kissing Jasmine good-bye, Rachel ran down the walk and climbed into her car. She arrived at the school ten minutes later.

Brittany was waiting for her. "Hey Rach, I'm really excited for this afternoon." Brittany said excitedly, hopping from foot to foot. "Me too, Britt, but what if I can't find anything sexy?" "You will, don't worry." "Okay, you're right. I'm trying to get in touch with my bad girl side." "Ooh, Rachel, you're turning into a rebel on us" Santana said, joining them. "Well, aren't I dating a rebel?" Rachel asked. Then she stopped dead. "Ooh, girls, girls, girls! I just had an awesome idea for a girls' number in Glee Club!" Rachel squealed. "What is it?" Brittany asked curiously. "I'll tell you guys later, I have to get to class." Rachel said before she dashed away, leaving Brittany and Santana staring after her. "I wonder what her idea is." Brittany said. "I don't know, but if we don't hurry, we'll be late for class. I'm guessing we'll find out later." Santana said. Brittany nodded and the two Cheerios hurried off to class.

The day passed quickly, and before the girls knew it, it was time to go costume shopping. They walked out to the parking lot together. "So, should we stop and have a snack at my house before we go shopping?" Rachel asked. "That sounds good to me. Hey Rachel, could I get a ride with you to your house? My car's in the shop because I put massage oil in the engine. I thought that the engine wanted a massage because it sounded like it was in pain." Brittany said. The other girls looked at her. "What? Everybody likes massages." Brittany said. "Not cars, Britt." Santana told her. "Oh." "Don't worry about it Brittany. And sure you can get a ride home with me. Anybody else need a ride?" Rachel asked. "I'm getting a ride with Q, so we'll meet you at your house Rach." Santana said. "Okay. Tina Cedes?" "Nope, we're good." Tina said. Rachel nodded and the girls headed off to their cars. Brittany followed Rachel to her car and they climbed in. "Do you have any CDs in here Rachel?" Brittany asked. "Yeah, they are in my console" Rachel replied. Brittany opened the console and pulled out the zippered case that Rachel kept her CDs in. "Just put in anything you want Brittany." Brittany unzipped the case and started flipping through the case. As she flipped through the CDs, she was surprised by what she found.

Rachel didn't like just Broadway music, she liked other stuff too. Rachel was starting to get nervous. "I have more CDs at my house if you don't like anything in there." "It isn't that. I just didn't know that you liked other stuff besides Broadway." "Yeah, I like pretty much anything, with the exception of rap and heavy metal." "I hear ya, sister. Oh my God, you have the Lion King soundtrack?" "Sure do. I love that movie." "Me too, we're totally watching it at your house this weekend! Can I put the CD on? I want to practice singing the songs so we can sing along to the movie" said Brittany. She was bouncing in her seat, and it was a good thing she was wearing a seatbelt because she probably would have bounced right out of her seat and smacked her head on the roof of the car. "Go ahead Brittany." Rachel said, chuckling at her friend's enthusiasm. Brittany clapped her hands in excitement and slipped the CD into the player. When The Circle of Life came on, both girls sang along at the top of their lungs. They were still singing when they pulled in at Rachel's house. They got out of the car and bounded up the steps. Trina met them at the door with Jasmine. "Hi Mom" Brittany said. "Hi sweetheart, Rachel." "Hi Trina, thank you again. Was she good?" "She was fine." Rachel took Jasmine from Trina. "So you girls are going shopping for costumes this afternoon?" "Yeah, but we're going to have a snack here first." Rachel said.

"Okay. Brittany, call when you are planning to come home." "Okay Mom." "Have fun, girls." "We will." Brittany kissed her mother goodbye and Trina left. "Okay Britt. Let's go find something to snack on." Rachel said. They headed into the kitchen and started rummaging around in the cupboards and the fridge. "Hey Rachel, I know this is going to sound silly, but would you teach me how to cook?" Brittany asked. "Of course Brittany and it's not silly to want to know how to cook at all." "Thanks. I just feel so useless when my mom and sister are cooking and I can't even cook something without setting the kitchen on fire." Brittany said sadly. Rachel looked at Brittany. Brittany looked like someone had kicked her puppy. "You did a really good job browning the hamburger when we made pizza the other night" Rachel said, trying to cheer Brittany up. "Thanks Rachel. I'm really glad we don't hate each other anymore." "I never hated you Brittany, or Santana or Quinn. I have never wanted to be your enemy." Rachel said. Just then the other girls came into the kitchen. "I don't understand why you don't hate us Rachel. We were so awful to you and you never did anything to us." Quinn said. "Because sometimes you have to be the bigger person and rise above what other people have done or said to you." Rachel answered.

After snacking on apples with peanut butter, the girls and Jasmine headed out to the cars. Rachel buckled Jasmine into her car seat and they drove to the mall. After they had gotten out of their cars and entered the mall, the girls looked around. "I don't see a costume store anywhere" Santana said. "There's one this way." Rachel said. She led the girls away from the doors and a few minutes later they came to a costume store. They entered and the salesgirl looked up. "Hey Rachel! Haven't seen you for awhile, how are you doing?" She came out from behind the counter and gave Rachel a hug. "I'm great Zoe. Do you remember Jasmine?" "Of course I do. Hey Jas, oh my gosh you are so big now! The last time I saw you, you were just a teeny tiny baby. How old is she now?" "She's five months." "Gosh she's so big and so cute too." Santana cleared her throat. "Oh! Sorry girls. You guys, this is Zoe, and she goes to temple with me. Zoe, these are the glee girls. Quinn, Brittany, Santana, Mercedes and Tina." Rachel introduced the girls in turn. "Nice to meet you guys. So, can I help you guys find anything today?" asked Zoe. "Yeah, we're looking for costumes for party that I'm having at my house this Friday night. Hey if you aren't doing anything, why don't you come?" Rachel invited. "Sure. If I'm not intruding." "You're not intruding at all" Santana said. "Okay, I'll be there. Now do you guys have anything specific in mind?" Zoe asked. "Rachel's trying to get in touch with her naughty girl side." Santana said, smirking. Zoe and the other girls laughed while Rachel blushed a scarlet red.

"Okay. How about the rest of you?" "I want something that shows off my personality." Brittany said. The other girls nodded and set about finding costumes. A few minutes into the search, Santana found her costume. "I found my costume" she said excitedly. "Let's see San." Brittany said. Santana held up a devil costume. "I have some red heels that will go perfectly with this." "Sexy." Quinn said. Everyone went back to pawing through the costume racks, and a few minutes later, Brittany found her costume. "Hey Rachel, look at this" Brittany called to Rachel. Rachel peered at the costume Brittany was showing her. "Tinkerbelle! That's perfect for you Britt." "I found my costume too." Quinn said, showing the girls the angel costume she had just found. Zoe was trying to find something for Jasmine. "Hey Rachel, what do you think of this kitten costume for Jasmine?" Zoe asked, showing Rachel the white kitten costume. "That's cute Zoe. What do you think munchkin?" Rachel asked Jasmine. Jasmine clapped her hands together. "I take it that's a good sign." Quinn said chuckling. "Yeah it is." Rachel said.

"Rachel do you want a break from carrying Jasmine? I can take her." Brittany offered. "Sure Britt." A few minutes later, everyone but Rachel had found a costume. "I still haven't found anything sexy." Rachel said. Zoe got a devious look in her eye and held a costume up. "What about this?" she asked. Rachel looked and let out a squeak. It was a maid's costume. "It's a maid's costume." Rachel said weakly. "Correction: it's a _French_ maid's costume. You did say you wanted something sexy." Zoe said. "You're right I did. Okay I'll take it." "Good girl, Rachel. Do you have black fishnet pantyhose?" Santana asked. "No." "What about a white lace bra?" Brittany asked. "I don't own either of those things." Rachel said. "Guess where we are heading next girls?" Quinn said. "Victoria's Secret." Brittany and Santana chorused. After paying for their costumes, the girls thanked Zoe for her help and said that they would see her Friday.

The girls practically dragged Rachel to Victoria's Secret and headed right to the lingerie section. They were flipping through the bras when Rachel spotted someone in the store across from Victoria's Secret. "Girls, look over there." Rachel whispered. They looked. Andrea Cohen and the rest of the Vocal Adrenaline girls were over there. The girls' eyes narrowed. "Just ignore them Rachel." Quinn said. The girls turned back to what they were doing. After finding a white lace bra and black fishnets, the girls headed out of the store. "What do you guys say we go get something to eat?" Rachel asked. "Sure, that sounds good to me." Brittany said. "Why don't we just have dinner here? It's 5:30." Santana said. "Okay. I need a big juicy burger like right now." Rachel said. The girls started walking to the food court, but when they got there it was really busy. "What do we do now?" asked Tina as her stomach growled.

"There's this great little diner not that far away from the mall. Why don't we go there for dinner?" Rachel suggested. The girls nodded and headed out to their cars. A few minutes later they pulled into the diner's parking lot. "I've never been here before." Brittany said. "Well, you and your taste buds are in for a treat. The food's awesome here." Rachel said. The girls followed her in. "Hi Dana, can I have a table for six and a highchair please?" Rachel asked the waitress. Dana nodded and led the girls to a booth. Rachel settled Jasmine into a highchair. "Can I get you girls something to drink?" Dana asked. "Just water to start with" Rachel said. Dana nodded and left. "How do you know about this place Rachel?" Santana asked. "I've come here with some people from my dance class. Contrary to what people believe, dancers actually eat." "You mean food other than fruit and veggies?" Quinn asked. "Exactly" Rachel said as she read the drinks menu. "Here's your water, girls." "Thanks Dana." Rachel said. "No problem. Are you girls ready to order?" "Can we have a few more minutes?" Quinn asked. "Of course" Dana left again and the girls read over their menus. "What are the burgers like here, Rachel?" Tina asked. "They are delicious. The chicken fingers and salads are really good too, and so are the ribs." "I love ribs. I know what I'm having now." Santana said. Rachel nodded as she lifted Jasmine out of the high chair and settled her on her lap. "What about you guys?" Rachel asked Quinn, Brittany, Mercedes and Tina as she fed Jasmine. "I don't know. Everything looks so good." Tina said. "I think I'm going to have a Caesar salad." Quinn said. "I think I'm going to have the chicken fingers with honey mustard sauce." Brittany said. Dana came back then. "Okay girls, are you guys ready to order?" she asked. "Yeah, can I have a bacon burger with fries and a non-dairy chocolate strawberry shake please?" Rachel asked. Dana nodded. "I'll have the ribs and I think I'll have the same drink as Rachel, it sounds really good." Santana said. The rest of the girls ordered the same drink as Rachel, and Mercedes and Tina decided to split a nachos plate while Quinn ordered a Caesar salad and Brittany ordered the chicken fingers with fries and honey mustard sauce. Dana left and came back with their drinks.

Upon taking her first sip, Brittany said "Oh gosh, I'm in milkshake heaven!" The other girls laughed. Dana arrived with their food and the girls' eyes bugged out at the sight of Rachel's burger. "Rachel are you going to be able to eat that?" Quinn asked. "Mhm, I've done it a lot of times." Rachel said before sinking her teeth into the huge burger. The girls dug into their food too. "Oh my gosh Rach, I am so glad you brought us here." Santana said. "The ribs are awesome hey?" Rachel said. Santana nodded her mouth full. After she had swallowed, she said "We are so bringing the boys here." The girls nodded. "Girls, after we win Regionals, we should all come to dinner here and bring our parents along too." Brittany said. "Hell yes we will." Rachel said. Then she lifted her glass. "To winning Regionals" she toasted. The girls all raised their glasses and touched them to Rachel's. "To winning Regionals" they parroted. Just then, a new voice said snidely "Oh please, you guys really think that No Directions has a chance of winning Regionals?" The girls turned to see Andrea Cohen with the rest of Vocal Adrenaline with her. "Yes Andrea. I do. I know that you guys have been National champions in the past, but that's all about to change." "Please Berry, you guys don't have half the talent we do and you've got a cripple in a wheelchair." Andrea sneered. "Not to mention Jesse dumped you because not only were you not pretty enough, but you wouldn't put out for him either. And Shelby doesn't want you."

Rachel stood up and so did Quinn and Santana. "You're wrong on both accounts, Andrea. Right before he smashed the egg on my face, Jesse said he loved me. But any feelings I have for him are gone because he broke my heart. As for Shelby, she does want me, because she came to our rehearsal yesterday and reconciled with me." "So what? We're still better than you." Just then, Andrea noticed Jasmine. "Whose baby? Is it yours Berry? Is Blondie not the only one who made a mistake?" Rachel stepped closer to Andrea and Quinn and Santana followed, just in case they needed to hold Rachel back. "FYI Andrea, that baby is my goddaughter." "Oh, well good to know you aren't some high school whore. Your mom wouldn't be very happy with you would she?" Rachel clenched her jaw. As much as she wanted to punch Andrea, she wasn't about to risk getting herself and her friends thrown out of the diner. She opened her mouth to say something, but Santana beat her to the punch.

"Listen here, bitch. Q is not a high school whore and as for what you are saying about Rachel, that's bullshit. So I'm gonna give you a message, along with the rest of Vocal Adrenaline, so you all better listen and you better listen good. You do anything to Rachel, like pull a stunt like you did with the egg throwing last year, you can answer to me. Rachel is one of my girls now, and I'll be damned if I stand by and watch her be humiliated by you. Is that clear?" Andrea scoffed. "Sure. We'll see you guys at Regionals. We'll settle this then. Be prepared to lose...again." With that Andrea led Vocal Adrenaline out of the diner. "Thanks for doing that Santana." Rachel said. "You're welcome. I'm only sorry I didn't do it sooner." Quinn, Rachel, and Santana sat down and the girls began eating again. After they had finished their dinner, Rachel said "Anyone want dessert? The pies are really good here." "What the heck, let's do it." Tina said. The girls decided that they wanted strawberry and rhubarb pie. Half an hour later, the girls were groaning with pleasure. "Oh my gosh that was delish." Quinn said. They paid their bills and walked out to their cars. "I can't wait to see what you guys perform tomorrow." Rachel said. "I can't wait to see what you perform. Are you going to perform 'Good Girls Go Bad'?" Brittany asked.

"Sorry Britt, you're just going to have to wait and see." Rachel said. The girls noticed that Rachel looked a little sad. "What's the matter Rach?" Quinn asked. "Nothing, I just get really lonely when my dads' go away on business." The girls looked at each other. "I can call home and tell my mom that I'm going to stay at your house tonight." Brittany offered. "Really? I mean you don't mind?" "No. Then I can just get a ride to school with you tomorrow and look after Jasmine while you're at work." "Thanks Britt." "No problem." "Okay, we'll see you girls tomorrow." Quinn said. She and Santana got into Quinn's red convertible while Tina and Mercedes got into their cars.

After Brittany had called her mother and let her know that she was staying at Rachel's for the night, they got into Rachel's car and drove to her house. "Rach, Jasmine is totally conked out." Brittany said. "Yeah, car rides are supposed to be excellent for putting babies to sleep." Rachel drove into her garage and she and Brittany got out. She unbuckled Jasmine from her car seat and lifted the sleeping baby into her arms.

The girls headed into the house and up the stairs. Brittany watched as Rachel carefully undressed Jasmine, changed her and put on a pair of pajamas. "She's in Dreamland." Rachel said, gazing down at her goddaughter affectionately. Brittany swallowed. "Is it hard?" "What Britt?" "Looking after a baby" Brittany said. "Sometimes it is, but you learn to take the bad stuff and the good stuff. It's all part of the journey that we call life. Sorry, that totally sounded like something out of a psychology textbook." "It's okay. I just wish my relatives would trust me enough to leave their babies with me. Obviously your cousins trust you, and I can see why. You know how to calm Jasmine down, and you know how to make her stop crying too." "I trust you. Come here, Britt, I'll show you how to put Jasmine into bed." "Okay." Brittany hesitantly put her arms out and Rachel tucked Jasmine into them. "Okay, so you need to support her head, and if she starts crying, don't shake her, because that can actually kill a baby." "Okay. How I am doing?" Brittany asked. "Really good, now just lay her down really gently." Rachel instructed. Brittany lowered Jasmine into the playpen and pulled the blankets over her. Then she looked at Rachel. "Did I do alright?" "Yeah, you did really well. Do you want to sleep in the spare room or do you want to sleep in here?" "Can I sleep in here? I just feel really vulnerable when I stay overnight at someone's house and I have to sleep alone." "Sure Britt. There's a spare toothbrush in my bathroom and I'll get you some pajamas." Rachel opened her pajama drawer and pulled out a pair of blue pajamas with moons and stars all over them. "Thanks Rachel." "You're welcome, Brittany. Thanks for staying over with me tonight."

After both girls had changed into their pajamas and brushed their teeth, they crawled into Rachel's bed. "See you in the morning, Rachel." "Good night, Brittany." Rachel and Brittany fell asleep almost instantly. It had been a pretty good day, and tomorrow were the Glee performances.

**Author's Note: Okay guys, I am really sorry that this is my first time writing an author's note, but I honestly didn't expect this story to be a hit with so many people. So...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! For all your support and for adding my story to your alert lists. And thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story. I've also started writing another story called 'This Love Is Ours' and it is a Flipped fan fiction, please check it out. If you haven't seen the movie, go watch it right now! I've been recommending it to a lot of my friends and my family members as well, it is just that good. Anyways, it would mean a lot to me if you guys would keep the reviews coming, because those are what keep me going. **

**Again, thank you all for your support.**

**Reviews are love. Puckleberry Fans Unite!**


	13. The Performances

The next morning, Brittany woke up to find that Rachel was gone. She peeked in Jasmine's crib and Jasmine was gone too. Brittany rolled out of bed, pulled on a clean pair of underwear and her cheerleading uniform and hurried down the stairs, hoping that Rachel hadn't left her behind. "Rachel? Where are you?" Brittany called. "I'm in the kitchen Brittany." Brittany came into the kitchen to find Rachel fully dressed and cooking breakfast for the two of them. Jasmine was sitting in her high chair watching her godmother with interest. "How did you sleep?" Rachel asked.

"Fine thanks. You?" "I slept pretty well. Do you like chocolate chip pancakes?" "Yeah, I do. Can I do anything to help?" "If you could get the orange juice out of the fridge and some glasses that would be great. Oh, and grab any fixings you want for your pancakes." "Fixings? Do you mean like a wooden chair?" "I mean like peanut butter, jam, syrup, margarine. That kind of thing." "Okay. Just so you know Rachel, when we get up Saturday morning, I call dibs on helping you fix breakfast for everybody. And I call dibs on helping you make dinner on Friday night too." "Sounds like a deal to me, Brittany." The girls ate breakfast, and then hurried back upstairs to finish getting ready for the day. Shelby arrived with Beth as they were getting ready to leave. "Hi girls, are you guys ready for your performances this afternoon?" "Yeah, I'm happy you're going to come watch Mom" Rachel said as she shouldered her bag. "I am too, honey." "Okay, so I left Jasmine's feeding schedule on the fridge and she usually goes down for a nap at about one." "No problem. I'll see you girls this afternoon, okay?" "Okay, bye Mom." "Bye Shelby."

As Rachel and Brittany drove to school, Brittany said "Rachel, you're going to be a really good mom one day." Rachel looked at her. "Why do you say that?" she asked. "Because of the way you take care of Jasmine, and you act really maternal with the Glee kids too." "Thanks Brittany."

They arrived at the school and Rachel pulled her costume bag and make up kit out of her car. After putting them into her locker, she went to her first class. The morning passed by quickly, and then it was lunch break. The Gleeks sat together and eagerly discussed their numbers, without revealing what they were. They split up reluctantly when the bell rang and went to their afternoon classes.

When the final bell rang, signalling that the day was over, Rachel and the other Glee girls scrambled to the bathroom. Rachel quickly changed into her costume and slid on a trench coat over it. She pulled on a pair of black high-heeled boots and zipped them up. "Hey Rachel, we want to see what your costume is!" Brittany squealed. "Yeah girl, hurry up and get out here!" Santana called. Rachel opened the door of the stall she was in. The girls eyed her black trench coat and high-heeled boots. "Oooh, Rachel, you foxy mama you!" Quinn said giggling. "Aren't you going to show us what's under the trench coat?" Tina asked as the girls moved to the sinks to do their make-up. Rachel swiped a coat of purple eyeshadow across her lids and answered "Sorry, but you all have to wait just like the boys and Mr. Schue and my mom." "Not even a teeny tiny hint?" Santana pleaded as she curled her hair. "Nope, after all girls, you know what they say in show business" Rachel said as she outlined her upper and lower lids in black liquid eyeliner and smudged it to give her an edgier look. "Nope, you're the theatre buff. What do they say?" Quinn asked as she buttoned up the back of her dress. Rachel finished applying her make-up and said with a wink "One does not show all her cards until she has a full house." The girls' mouths dropped open in shock. They stared at Rachel. "What? Why are you guys staring at me like that? It's like I've grown a second head or something." "Oh my gosh, you guys, Rachel's turned from a good girl into a sassy minx." Quinn said, giggling. Santana playfully hip-checked Rachel and said "Chica, you realize that you just made an innuendo without meaning to." Then she pretended to start crying and said "I'm so proud of you! You guys, Rachel's growing up!" All the girls burst into helpless, crazy laughter.

Outside, the boys looked at each other. They were waiting for the girls so that they could all walk to the choir room together. "What the hell are they laughing about?" Sam said. "Maybe we don't want to know" Finn said. The other boys nodded. Back in the girls' bathroom, the girls were putting the finishing touches on their costumes. After they were done, they got their normal clothes and make-up cases and headed out the door. Puck's eyebrows rose and he smirked at Rachel as she came out.

"You're looking good, darlin'" he drawled. Rachel grinned and walked towards him. The Glee kids walked to the choir room together. Puck couldn't stop looking at Rachel. Her hair was straightened and her make-up was edgier than usual. She had on red lipstick and big silver earrings. Just before they entered the choir room he leaned towards Rachel's ear and whispered "Just so you know; I like the way you usually look." Rachel leaned into him as they walked into the choir room together.

Shelby, Beth, Jasmine, and Mr. Schue were waiting for the kids. As soon as Jasmine saw Puck and Rachel, she started to wiggle and squirm in Mr. Schuester's arms. Puck hurried forward to take her and he and Jasmine sat down next to Rachel. "Okay you guys, I am really excited to see what your numbers are for this assignment." Quinn's rendition of _Reaching for Heaven_ was mind-blowing; Santana and Brittany totally owned Cher's _Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves_. Tina wowed everybody with _Miracles Happen_ by Myra, and Mercedes nailed Nelly Furtado's Powerless_ (Say What You Want)_. As for the boys' numbers, Artie and Mike's rendition of _All She Wants to Do is Dance _was incredible, and Finn and Sam blew them away with _My Wish _by Rascal Flatts.

"Okay Puck and Rachel, you guys are the only ones left. Which one of you wants to go first?" "I'll go first " said Puck as he stood up. Then he looked down at Jasmine. "Who wants the munchkin?" he asked. "I'll take her" Sam offered, standing up to take Jasmine from Puck. Sam sat down with Jasmine settled on his lap, and she grinned at Quinn, who was holding Beth on her lap.

Puck took his place in the center of the floor. "So this song is dedicated to my beautiful girl, Rachel." Rachel smiled as the group exchanged 'awww' looks with each other. Puck was wearing black pants and a black button down shirt with a silver tie. He nodded to the band and started to sing.

_Hey little girl with the cash to burn_

_I'm sellin' something you won't return_

_Hey little girl take me off the shelf _

_Cause it's hard having fun playing with yourself_

_Once you've browsed through the whole selection_

_Shake your hips in my direction_

As he sang that line, Puck shook his hips in a very Link Larkin way. Rachel giggled and looked around at the group, who were enjoying the song just as much as she was. Sam had even taken Jasmine's hands in his own and started clapping them together.

_A prettier package you never did see_

_Take me home and then unwrap me _

_Shop around but little darlin' _

_I've got to be_

_The Ladies' Choice (Ladies' Choice)_

_Ladies' Choice_

_Hey little girl looking for a sale_

_Test drive this American male_

_It's gonna take cash to fill my tank_

_So let's crack open your piggy bank_

_Hey little girl going window shopping _

_I got something traffic stopping_

Puck ripped off his shirt and tie, revealing a black tank top that emphasized his well muscled torso and arms. He winked at Rachel before dancing over to Shelby and pulling up her to dance with him. He spun Shelby around twice and dipped her dramatically before setting her back down on her chair. Puck danced back to the center of the floor before he ran and skidded forward on his knees to Rachel.

_Hey little girl on a spending spree_

_I don't come cheap but the kisses come free_

He gave Rachel an energetic smack right on the lips and Rachel giggled and blushed. Puck stood up and backed away.

_On closer inspection I'm sure that you'll agree_

_I'm the Ladies' Choice (Ladies' Choice), Ladies' Choice_

_(Ahhhhhh, ahhhhh, ahhhhh, ahhh) (Wow!)_

_Hey little girl on a spending spree_

_I don't come cheap but the kisses come free_

_On closer inspection I'm sure that you'll agree_

_Oh, Hey little girl listen to my plea_

_I come with a lifetime guarantee_

_And one day maybe we'll find that baby makes three_

Puck danced up to Rachel again and placed his hand on her belly before pulling her up to dance with him. Rachel squealed as he picked her up and spun around with her.

_It's the Ladies' Choice_

_I'm the Ladies' Choice_

_The Ladies' Choice_

_I'm the Ladies' Choice choice choice_

_I'm the Ladies' Choice_

Puck finished his performance to tumultuous applause and cheers. "Puck, that was awesome!" Mr. Schue said, offering his fist for a fist bump. Puck bumped his fist with Mr. Schue's. "What did you think of his performance, Shelby?" Mr. Schue asked. "It was absolutely fantastic. Rachel, you've got yourself one heck of boyfriend and dance partner." Rachel smiled and wrapped her arms around Puck's waist. "I sure do. He's definitely this lady's choice." Rachel said.

"Okay, Rach. It's your turn to perform now. And by the way you're almost bouncing off the walls with energy; I can tell we are in for a show." Puck let go of Rachel and sat down on his chair. The girls were watching Rachel excitedly. They couldn't wait to see what Rachel had cooked up. Mercedes had even gotten her phone out so she could video Rachel's performance to send to Kurt at Dalton.

"Mercedes, are you videotaping me?" Rachel asked. Mercedes hit the record button and nodded. Rachel turned to her audience. "Since last week's assignment was to do a song that we normally wouldn't do, I chose to do one that would show off my sexy girl side, because every good girl has a sexy side. And this song is dedicated to Noah. Hope you enjoy. Hit it" Rachel said to the band.

The opening chords of Rachel's song began to play.

_I know all about,_

_Yeah about your reputation_

_And now it's bound to be a heartbreak situation_

_But I can't help it if I'm helpless_

_Every time I'm where you are_

_You walk in and my strength walks out the door _

_Say my name and I can't fight it anymore_

_Oh, I know I should go_

_But I need your touch just too damn much_

As she sang this line, Rachel whipped open her trench coat, revealing the low-cut strapless black mini dress, making everyone's jaws drop. And just like a true diva, she tossed her coat to the side.

_Loving you, That isn't really something I should do_

_I shouldn't wanna spend my time with you, ya_

_Well, I should try to be strong _

_But baby, you're the right kind of wrong _

_Ya, baby you're the right kind of wrong _

Rachel swivelled her hips and tossed her hair.

_It might be a mistake_

_A mistake I'm makin'_

_But what your giving I am happy to be taking_

_Cause no one's ever made me feel _

_The way I feel when I'm in your arms_

_They say you're somethin' I should do without_

_They don't what goes on when the lights are out_

Rachel raised her eyebrows and shook her finger at Puck.

_There's no way to explain_

_All the pleasure is worth all the pain _

_Loving you, that isn't really something I should do ya-hey_

_I shouldn't wanna spend my time with you ya_

_Well I should try to be strong _

_But baby you're the right kind of wrong _

_Ya, baby you're the right kind of wrong _

_I should try to run but I just can't seem to_

'_Cause every time I run you're the one I run to_

_Can't do without what you do to me,_

_I don't care if I'm in too deep yeah_

_I know all about_

_Yea about your reputation_

_And now it's bound to be a heartbreak situation _

_But I can't help it if I'm helpless _

_Every time that I'm where you are_

_You walk in and my strength walks out the door _

_Say my name and I can't fight it anymore _

_Oh, I know I should go _

_But I need your touch just too damn much_

_Hey-yeah_

_Loving you, yeah, isn't really something I should do _

_I shouldn't wanna spend my time with you ya_

_Well, I should try to be strong, I should try to be strong_

_But baby, you're the right kind of wrong (right kind of wrong)_

_Baby, you're the right kind of wrong_

Rachel walked over to Puck and swang her hips as she walked.

_Baby, you're the right kind of wrong_

_Yeah baby, you're the right kind of wrong_

Rachel executed a little twirl and sat down on Puck's lap as she finished singing. Everyone was clapping and cheering. Artie wheeled himself over to Rachel. "High five, Rachel." He said. Rachel smiled a huge smile and high-fived him. Mr. Schuester took the floor. "Awesome job all of you. All of your numbers were awesome, but Rachel, I think yours was the icing on the cake, wouldn't you guys agree?" "Yeah. Rachel, where did you get your dress?" Santana asked. "Oh, just something I had lying around." "Okay, guys, that brings us to the end of the rehearsal. Great job all of you, and I'll see you tomorrow."

Rachel walked out with Shelby and Beth since Noah had football practice. "You were amazing, this afternoon, Rachel. You really are your mother's daughter" Shelby said, hugging her older daughter goodbye.

**Author's Note: 13 Chapters! Whoo! What did you guys think of this chapter? Did you like the songs? Please let me know what you think, I love hearing from you all. **

**Reviews=Love **


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